Expect the Unexpected
by ladeste
Summary: All they'd ever wanted was a family. Now, Luffy, Ace and Sabo make up the family they'd never known. However when Luffy stumbles, they find something they never knew was missing.
1. Founding of a Family

_Luffy, Sabo, and Ace meet Thatch while they are growing up, and Thatch adopts them as his kids. Thatch can already be apart of the Whitebeard Pirates, or not. And you can make Luffy a boy or a girl. Also, no Gum Gum Fruit. Please make up an original Devil Fruit for Luffy._

_You can also genderbend other characters, such as Ace and Sabo._

* * *

><p>"Luffy slow down damit, you're going to hurt yourself again!"<p>

"I'm not even trying silly Ace, and I won't fall over! Promise!"

SMACK

"oww"

The tears that threatened to spill from the speedster were accompanied by two sets of sighs.

"Luffy, come on, you're alright it's just a graze"

Refusing to move from her face down position her fists clenched firmly as she shook in a mixture of annoyance, anger and pain.

Sensing her unwillingness to move Sabo took a seat on the large root from which he could be comfortable as well as be able to watch for any approaching figures.

Ace however, watched his 'younger sister', squatting down by her head and started poking the side of her face.

"You jinxed yourself"

Still too upset to respond Luffy shook her head back and forth in disagreement, swiping her arm out in attempt to push him over.

"HEY! That wasn't very nice!"

Sabo rolled his eyes at the scene in front of him, these two were always at each other and as the eldest, well the presumed eldest, he was much too old to partake in such nonsense.

Rising from his position he looked up searching for the closest branch that would support his weight. Finding a fairly solid limb Sabo pulled himself onto it before resettling with his back pressed against the tree trunk.

Ace sighed again as he looked over to Sabo before gazing back to Luffy. It was kinda his fault, he knew it, Sabo knew it, and well Luffy probably knew it too, which was why he was currently being ignored.

"Luffy...Luuffy...Luuuffy..."

The next swipe came to quickly managing to catch his legs and force him back on to his butt. Ace glared down at the still face down girl but quickly saw the pointlessness as she couldn't even see it in order to acknowledge his irritation.

Ace licked his lips in concentration as he tried to figure out a way to get Luffy to respond, poking hadn't worked and neither had calling her name but maybe...

"Don't even think about it Ace"

The deadpan call from Sabo dimmed the spark in his eyes as they continued to silently converse through raised eyebrows.

Dropping his shoulders Ace returned his gaze to Luffy.

"Luffy, I'm... I shouldn't have... I didn't mean...um."

Frowning Ace stopped speaking unsure of how best to phrase what he meant. Affection had never been one of his strong suits even with Luffy.

"Ace! Luffy! Move!"

The snap of a branch accompanied by approaching footsteps sparked Ace's movement into the nearby bushes. Luffy however remained stubbornly still.

"Luffy!"

Sabo hissed desperate for her to move "come on!"

Whilst continuing to ignore her brother's pleas, her shoulders grew tense as the heavy footfalls grew both louder and more prominent.

"Well what do we have here?"

A jovial voice sounded whilst the owner's eyes scanned the area assessing the situation he had stumbled across.

"Are you okay? I'm not a doctor but I'm sure I could clean up that nasty bit of blood you've got on your knee."

Reaching down the strangers hand changed course heading toward the discarded straw hat. Spinning it in his hands he twirled it appreciatively, "This is a nice hat kid"

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

Luffy screeched as she swung determinedly at his lower body, unable to reach Shank's hat in the man's too tall grasp, all pain currently forgotten.

Sabo winced as he watched Luffy's actions. This guy was huge, with what appeared to be dual wielding swords by his sides, he doubted that even the three of them could take him on.

'Just give Luffy the hat back and go away, please don't hurt Luffy'

Ace griped at his metal pipe tighter as the man's clasped around Luffy's small shoulder.

'We can take him, we can take him!'

Launching himself from his hiding place he swung the rusted rod at the man's arm, unsuccessfully as the man dropped Luffy's hat to catch his swing.

Following Ace's lead Sabo slid to the ground swiping Luffy's hat out of harm's way before pointing his similar rod at the man's face. "Let her go!"

Unaffected by the presence of both Sabo and Ace the man released a boisterous laugh before stepping back and raising his splayed hands in defence.

"Okay boys don't get upset I was only trying to help your friend"

"Sister" Luffy returned softly, slightly shaken from the events.

"My apologies, your sister, but you don't have to worry I'm not going to hurt you. Would you like me to fix your knee?"

Pouting out her bottom lip with watery puppy eyes Luffy nodded her head meekly looking towards her older brothers.

Sabo and Ace held another silent conversation before lowering their pipes and moving to a place where they could sit down.

"My names Thatch by the way"

"That's nice we don't care."

"Ace! Don't be so rude!"

"Whatever"

Thatch chuckled as he returned his attention to Luffy as she stood awkwardly on one leg with the other slightly bent and hovering in the air. "Can you sit?"

Luffy shuffled her foot searching the ground for a way down without moving her leg. After a few half bendings of her good knee, Luffy shook her head not wanting anymore pain then she was already in.

"I really can't fix this here without it hurting, the place I'm renting is just on the outskirts of town, if we go there I can fix this up no problems."

A low growl came from Ace's angry lips "Luffy!"

Sabo ever the diplomat studied Thatch's face, searching for any hint that they could be walking into a trap.

Another round of sniffles forced Sabo into accepting consequently dragging a highly reluctant Ace with him. Thatch gently picked up Luffy making sure her knee didn't bang against his arm as he started along the forest towards the dump that separated them from the town.

Stepping over the trash of the town's people Thatch was brought out of his thoughts "Why do you live on the outside of town?"

Staring down at the young girl, his lips twitched in an amused smile. "I'm a pirate, but I had some troubles out at sea and now I'm stuck here until I can find another crew to take me or I find a boat suitable for me to take."

"I'm going to be a pirate too!"

With a serious expression Luffy looked intently at Thatch, "but I'm not going to be on someone else's crew, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! And I'll have the world's best crew, but it'd be better if Ace and Sabo joined."

"Like I'd follow you Luffy, you can't even swim!"

"You're so mean to me Ace."

Ace just rolled his eyes as he kicked the metal tomato tin back to Sabo not losing focus in their imaginary soccer game.

Thatch's eyebrows furrowed in shock "You can't swim Luffy?"

"No, I ate the speed speed fruit and now I can't swim."

Thatch motioned for Luffy to be silent as they slipped through the dump gates quickly weaving their way into the back streets until Thatch came to a halt outside one of the many dirty and paint cracked doors.

The number 97 in wooden cut outs hung precariously on the door, the nine appearing to have been at one stage a six. "Well this is it, home sweet home."

The small kitchen that the group entered had no table or chairs and only had a half sized fridge, rust around the edges.

Whilst the boys continued their observations of the fastest and most effective methods of escape in case something went wrong, Thatch smoothly lowered Luffy onto the bench.

"Sabo if you go out that door and turn left you'll see the bathroom; in the cupboard above the sink I have the first aid kit, could you grab that for me whilst I clean out the dirt."

Repeating the directions to himself Sabo quietly followed Thatch's instructions to retrieve the kit, not that Luffy would need anything more than a bandaid, she was such a girl sometimes.

When he made it back into the room Luffy was almost in tears despite Thatch's reassurances that it was just a little cut with some grazing, to Luffy it clearly felt more than a small loss of skin.

"Here's the kit"

"Ah great thank you Sabo, here we go Luffy we'll just put a band-aid on it and you'll be good as new!"

Choosing to ignore Luffy's very clear under breath mutterings Thatch finished patching up her knee, discarding the rubbish into a plastic bag hanging on one of the assorted door knobs.

"All done, you're ready to go-"

Luffy's roaring stomach interrupted Thatch causing a sheepish smile to rise on her face and a bout of laughter from Thatch.

"That's no good. I can't send you back home on an empty stomach. You guys want something for dinner?"

"MEAT, MEAT, MEAT"

Luffy chanted eagerly wanting to fill her empty belly and causing her older brothers further anguish.

Shaking his head at the young girl's enthusiasm, Thatch made his way around the kitchen pulling things out of random cupboards in order to prepare a much larger meal than he was use to making.

Half an hour later the bench was covered in a multitude of meat dishes and four bowls of rice leaving all three children drooling from their seats around the room.

Transferring all the dishes to the floor Thatch motioned for them to start whilst retrieving the remaining bowls. What he hadn't anticipated was for Luffy to be seemingly inhaling the food with her brothers keeping a similar pace.

"Whoa, slow down, now ones going to steal the food from you"

Muttering around a mouthful of food Sabo managed a barely recognisable "Luffy will eat it all if you don't hurry up"

Shaking his head in disbelief Thatch joined them on the floor eating at a much more reasonable pace than any of the three children.

By the end of the meal Ace had fallen asleep lying on his back, with his hands tucked under his head and his full stomach rising and falling with his breaths. Luffy had similarly fallen asleep however had found refuge in a holey armchair that was revealing bits of stuffing. Sabo whilst leaning back on his elbows remained awake watching over his siblings.

The clock down the hallway ticked over to the hour gently chiming through the house. Groaning Sabo rose poking Ace in order to rouse him from his slumber.

"Come on we really should be getting home, Ace you wake up Luffy, thank you for your hospitality but we really should be getting back to the forest."

Luffy, despite Ace's shaking was stubbornly remaining asleep in the oversized armchair that she hadn't left since finishing her dinner.

"You kids could always stay the night and leave in the morning when it's safer."

-** One and a half years later** -

"Daadddyyyyy! Why are you going! You can't go! You have to stay here, with me and Ace and Sabo!"

Exasperated, Thatch looked down to the slightly older, definitely less clumsy speedster currently clinging to his leg, refusing to let go despite him walking towards _his_ new home.

Ace and Sabo were trailing a little further behind kicking the dirt under their feet wishing that they too could cling to Thatch's pants in an attempt to stop him leaving, but unlike Luffy, they knew it wouldn't change what had already been decided.

Thatch was finally heading back out to sea, but unlike last time it wasn't going to be a one man adventure. This time he would be part of the Whitebeard Pirates, be part of a bigger picture that would get him to the New World like he'd always dreamed.

"Daaaddddyy!"

Tears cascaded down Luffy's face as they came to a halt at the end of the dock holding one of the Whitebeards ships'.

Removing Luffy from his leg, he knelt down to her eye level and put a hand atop her hat covered head.

"Just think of it this way when you turn seventeen you'll be ready to start your own adventures. Just remember I expect a visit when you all make it to the new world, and Luffy you now have a duty to see two people not just Shanks, m'kay."

Sniffling almost uncontrollably she managed a "m'kay" in return before throwing herself into his arms for a last hug. This time her brothers followed her lead pulling in tightly to the man who had been the closest thing any of them had ever had as a father.

Removing himself gentle from the hug he stepped back swinging his body up onto the deck of the ship, he didn't look back to three children that had unexpectedly become his own.


	2. Travelling Hat

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't go!"

"Luffy come on you're being worse than when dad left! What happens when I find him and he asks me how you are and I tell them that you're still the same whiny little sister I had 7 years ago."

Sighing Luffy detached herself from Ace, choosing to walk slightly in front just in case any loose tears found themselves on the move.

"I don't see how you expect me not to care, you're the only brother I have left, and I can't lose you too."

Ace's previously excited facial expression dropped slightly at Luffy's admission. He didn't want to leave her alone, but they both knew that it would be impossible for them to sail together. They had different dreams and goals, and neither would relent to let the other be captain. This was for the best.

"Yer well when you realise that you made a mistake by not joining my crew, I might, if I'm in a good mood, let you on...as the cleaner of course."

"Why you little!"

All fear for her brother's safety quickly disappeared, leaving only annoyance and a desire to rid herself of him faster.

Glaring at Ace's cheeky smile, her lips twitched to a devilish smile a plan formulating in her mind. Without a moment's hesitation she swiped Ace's favourite –and only- orange hat from a top his head before sprinting towards the shore.

"LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFY DAMIT! IF YOU HURT MY HAT!"

Ace set off in a sprint after Luffy, with the knowledge that there was no chance of him successfully catching her if she didn't want to be.

By the time he made it through the previously quiet town, Luffy had already fallen asleep leaning against the barrels opposite his new single person ship; his hat ridiculously perched atop Luffy's own straw one.

Shaking his head in amusement Ace stole his hat back knocking Luffy's head to the ground in the process.

"HEY! What was that for!"

"Stealing my hat obviously"

Twisting it around in his hands Ace studied the beads and two smiley faces checking it over for any unintentional damage the road racer may have caused it.

"Did you ever actually thank dad for it?"

Snapping out of his evaluation, Ace focused his attention on the cocked head of Luffy currently positioned way too close to his personal bubble.

"What do you mean? Course I did! Later...maybe..."

A sheepish Ace scratched the back of his head, adding thanking Thatch on his list of things to tell him when he found him. Pushing his hat over his hair, stuffing it low enough to not blow off in the breeze, Ace stepped off the dock into the boat now eye level with Luffy.

"Well I guess I'll see you in three years huh."

"I guess so"

Came the gentle reply of his usually over energetic sister. Unsure of what else to say Ace untied the last rope and pushed off from the splintering pier.

"PORTGAS D. ACE YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON WHY YOU ARE LEAVING BEFORE SAYING GOODBYE!"

Ace, surprised, not only by the fact that it was_ Makino_ yelling at him but the force at which she was yelling at him was enough to almost sending him falling, as a breeze swung his sail right into him.

"YER YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING RASCAL WE WANTED TO FAIRWELL YOU AS WELL!"

The second voice belonged to the mayor who had by now hobbled up to stand next to Maniko. Faces cracking into giant smiles, Ace laughed as the two waved manically from the shore, not caring if they were acting completely out of character.

Lifting his arm to give a less enthusiastic wave back, Ace raised his face to the sky letting the sun's rays brush his face marking the first day of what he hoped to be many at sea.

Looking back to the village Ace soaked up the town that had been home for his past 17 years, and upon finishing his inspection his focus came to rest on the reducing figure of his sister.

Shockingly she was not jumping up and down in a frenzy but had instead raised her hat above her head in their personal salute. Following her lead Ace raised his hat above his own before stuffing it back down and focusing on what lay ahead.

_Watch out dad cause I'm coming your way._

* * *

><p>I'm really sorry that I had Makino's name up incorrectly and thank you NekoiKurona for picking it up for me :)<p> 


	3. Bandit Boredom

Luffy lay quietly on her back resting on the ground where Thatch had found her all those years ago.

She didn't like this. The silence, the loneliness, it was getting to her and she hated it. She missed the past when she had everyone with her, now being alone she just wanted to get out to sea, find her own crew. People she could look out for, people she could trust and people that wouldn't leave her.

It had been two months since Ace's departure and Luffy was going mad at the thought of having to wait three more years.

"_You could just join my crew. Save everyone the worry that you're going to fall into the water and drown."_

"Stupid Ace" Luffy muttered "I'm not going to drown and I'm going to be a better pirate then you and all of your crew combined."

Ggggrrrrr

The rumbling of her stomach was the motivation Luffy needed to go do something deemed moderately productive.

Running and jumping over the tree roots Luffy tore her way through the forest looking for something she could take back to Dadan who had kicked her out this morning with a "That's enough moping you good for nothing lay-about get your arse out of here and don't come back till you have food or a better mood"

Well Luffy doubted she was going to shift moods anytime soon so bringing back meat was her only option.

She had thought about returning to the tree house for the night just to spite her lazy 'care taker' but after an afternoon by herself she was missing the sound of other people's voices.

Gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Pausing to clutch her abdomen Luffy realised that she'd made it all the way to the dump side of the forest without having found anything.

Sighing she turned her back on the rubbish tip and started into the forest once more, this time at a much more reasonable pace.

The sun was starting to drop and Luffy was still yet to find anything when she stepped on a rather soft, brown log.

Reaching her hand down to touch it Luffy looked at the strangely bunched sticks that were similarly soft.

"Weird" she mumbled.

Yanking one off the log, Luffy jumped in surprise when a screech came momentarily after. The log shifted revealing two very yellow and very angry eyes glaring intently at Luffy.

Luffy's face broke out into her signature grin as she realised that she had found dinner for the evening.

Snapping its gleaming teeth the forest creature had taken on more than it could handle as Luffy dodged its advances as if she was avoiding her grandfather's fists of love.

Whilst Garp frequently managed to connect his fist with the young girls head the creature was having no such luck and it was quickly (like anything Luffy wanted to eat) finished off and being carried towards the bandits place of residence.

Dumping the body outside the front door Luffy moved aside as Dadan's followers swooped in and cut up the meat into edible portions.

Once the meat was cooked Luffy inhaled her share and continued to watch the others around the cabin waiting for someone she could poach more food from. Pouncing on an unprepared bandit Luffy managed to swipe another roll of meat before dashing out the door to sit relatively safely on the roof.

Having gnawed off all of the meat and then some Luffy reached her arm back then let it fly forwards flinging the finished bone off into the bushes.

Thunk

An undignified squawk came from the bushes as a news coo flew out with a large bump on his head. Glaring at Luffy, being the only one around and hence the only one who could have thrown it, he approached warily, concerned for his safety.

Even though Luffy had become a surprisingly good customer over the past two months, always eagerly scrambling to get hold of the paper, it didn't erase his fear of being eaten. Maybe not to Luffy personally but he'd seen many a news coo go missing after encountering a pirate or the like.

Thrusting a Beli into the news coos face Luffy snatched a copy of the paper instantly flipping through the pages, not noticing or caring that the news coo had left.

Reaching the stack of new wanted posters in the middle she quickly discarded the rest of the paper letting it fall from the roof to the ground.

Shuffling the papers faster than most people's eyes could see her hands came screeching to a halt at the tenth poster. Her mouth cracked into a toothy grin as she slid off the roof rushing to the chaos inside.

"Dadan! Dadan! Look Look! Isn't this amazing oh my god I can't believe it he's done it! He's done it! Hehehe, look at his picture he looks so serious and he's got such an amazing bounty!"

Not really giving time to the fire haired bandit to actually look at what she was exclaiming about, Luffy waltzed around the room, shoving the piece of paper into everyone's faces before moving onto the next person just as quickly.

Dogra* and Dadan looked at each still not completely certain of what was going on.

"Do you think..."

"No it couldn't possibly be"

They looked at each than over to Luffy before looking back to each other. Dadan was the first to react lunging at the speedster and miraculously catching her in a head lock.

"Oww! Crazy old woman let me go!"

Whilst Luffy struggled Dogra snuck up swiping the poster from her grasp. Refusing to let go of Luffy despite the flailing limbs, Dadan looked over to her companion, raising an eye at his trembling form.

"He's done it! He really has!"

Dogra switched the poster around so as Dadan could see it. Wet wells popped up in the corner of her eyes—not that she'd ever admit it if anyone pointed it out.

Finally squeezing out of her grip Luffy quickly regained possession of the poster, her face splitting grin back in place as she rushed around the room gathering some supplies before sprinting over to the wall that already held two posters.

Holding the new poster above the other two, Luffy lined up a nail and gave it a swift bang. Luffy took a step back as everyone else gathered in closely examining the walls newest addition.

"Fire Fist Ace, Dead or Alive, 20 000 Beli"

Once everyone had scrutinised the teenagers first wanted posted, boisterous laughter started raining out with people pulling out barrels of sake in order to fully celebrate. If one thing for the rest of the night was certain, it was that no one would be heading to bed anytime soon.

* * *

><p>*Dogra is the short bandit of Dadan's following; he also wears the poka-dot pants and a turban<p>

-Also I have no idea what Ace's first bounty was but for two months at sea I would have thought that 20 000 Beli is pretty impressive-


	4. Makino's Monday

Makino finished wiping down the last table in the corner of the tiny bar, releasing a breath of quiet achievement that she'd finished her first task of the morning.

Whilst the open sign had been hung up outside for the past hour, there had yet to be a single customer come through the door. She didn't mind the hectic ways her business could get, with drunken pirates or even bandits, in fact she preferred it to the slow days.

Her favourite customers in all her years of owning the bar were definitely Captain Shanks, his crew and the little pocket full of energy that made up Luffy's being.

Plopping herself down on the stool that was usually occupied by said ball of energy Makino let out a sigh, she couldn't believe that it had been over ten years since Luffy had consumed the devil's fruit.

Remembering the expression of surprise and anger combined with a genuine fear for the girl that Shanks had, Makino couldn't help but giggle. He had been so angry at the little girl but when he tried to grab her he completely missed with Luffy managing to work her way behind the bar before anyone had time to realise what had happened.

Whilst Makino had admittedly been a little frightened by the whole situation at the time, the reactions of both Luffy and Shanks were quiet comical upon reflection.

However today there were no street racers or red headed captains, just Makino.

Pushing herself off the bench she made her way around the small bar area wiping down glasses that already gleamed with cleanliness, a fruitless attempt to distract herself.

Truth was Luffy had left. She hadn't even stuck around for a birthday celebration.

Makino had been there to see her off as had the Mayor and Dadan. Just as they'd done for Ace, but it felt different this time, almost as if she was sending off her own daughter.

Luffy's antics had become routine for Makino and she knew it was the same for the other villagers. If it was silent when Ace had left then the town could only be described as dead.

The children still played, and everyone was still about doing their daily chores, but it wasn't the same, it was like the life of the town had left with Luffy, and in a sense Makino thought, it had.

Luffy had touched the hearts of everyone, even the mayor, who thought that all Luffy did was cause trouble, he too cared and had been affected by Luffy's magic.

The twinkling of the doorbell pulled Makino out of her musings to focus on the figure who's frame filled almost the entire door way.

The colour drained slightly from her face as she switched on a smile that hopefully looked somewhat sincere.

"Garp, what a surprise! We didn't know you were in the area!"

"Bwawawa! You didn't expect me to miss my only granddaughters seventeenth birthday did you?"

Makino sweat dropped as she looked over the obliviously cheerful Vice Admiral now seated in front of her.

"Ah, Garp? Luffy's birthday was last week, on the 5th it's the 12th today."

"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Makino took a step closer to the back of the bar as the Marine toppled backwards off his stool.

Scrambling to regain his composure Garp jumped off the floor back into his seat acting as if it hadn't happened at all.

"Ah yes well we might have been slightly delayed by the possibly long short cut detours that took us..."

Makino stood silent as she blinked rapidly at Garp. "You mean you forgot and when Sengoku reminded you on the 5th that it was Luffy's birthday you rushed out here?"

Colour rose in his cheeks at being caught out by the young bartender. Rubbing the back of his head Garp opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by the chiming door bell.

"Makinooooo! It's too quiet I want Luffy to come ba-"

The Mayor halted as he realised who the other patron in the bar was. Eyes the size of dinner plates the mayor comically back peddled through the door waving his hands in front of his face.

"I was never here-this was just a figment of your imagination-imagination..."

Slamming the door behind him the mayor ran full paced, which wasn't very fast in reality, back to his office, locked the door and hid under the table, not planning to move until word reached him that Garp had sailed off.

Back at the bar the two remaining individuals blinked slightly dazed at the events that had just occurred.

"Is he feeling okay?"

Garp finally blurted out.

Makino still not quiet recovered from the hell that almost broke loose, nodded her head absently,

"I think he's fine maybe just a spot of over exposure to the sun."

Garp raised an eyebrow at the offered explanation but brushed it off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well I best get-"

For the second time that day Garp was cut off by the damn doorbell.

"Makino, we're out of the good stuff."

"What Dadan means is that whilst trying to drown our sorrows we seem to have run outta things to drown in"

"Shut ya face Dogra, no one wants your transfusions!"

"Ah boss, I think you mean translations?"

"Magra!"

"Eeep! Sorry Boss!"

This time is was Makino's turn to panic as Garp took in the appearance of his granddaughters care takers.

Swaying slightly Dadan manage to successfully land her backside on the stool next to Garp as the others chose seats a little further away.

"So Garp, how you doing?"

Dadan looked at Garp before moving her gaze to Makino. Confused by her panicked expression Dadan sobered up rapidly as she returned her eyes to the fuming marine beside her.

"Ah Garp...ah hi"

"Dadaaaan!"

Throwing herself onto the floor Dadan bowed before Garp.

"I'm sorry it's not my fault I tried to stop her from leaving but...but she should never have been my responsibility and I don't know what you expected me to do with her I mean she was insane and ate like a monster and it's not like I could control the pirate obsessed child..."

Dadan's voice trailed off as the Vice Admiral Garp's fists shook with rage.

"THAT DAMN BRAT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A MARINE!"

* * *

><p>*Mangra is the bandit that kind of looks like a chicken<p>

Also do not fear Luffy shall return in the next chapter...maybe


	5. Spot the Missing Pirate

"RUN! THAT'S AN ORDER! GO NOW!"

Deep breaths shuddered out of the fire wielder as he stood face to face with one of the Four Emperors of the sea. He would not lose. His fight with Jinbei was exhausting but he had enough strength for this.

Charging towards the man, Whitebeard's huge arm slamming him down and the pain that followed was the last thing Ace remembered before the darkness took hold.

* * *

><p>-On deck-<p>

First Division Commander, Marco paced across the deck of the Moby Dick looking out over the ocean in a slow game of Spot the Missing Pirate. The process of striding from one end of the ship to the other continued for ten minutes as Whitebeard watched his son with mild amusement.

Finally stopping in the middle of the deck, Marco looked out toward the prow of the boat. Not finding what it was he was looking for, he craned his neck to gaze at his relaxed Captain.

"Thatch has been gone for a while now pops. You sure you don't want me and the boys to go and check it out?"

"No. He'll be fine... they shouldn't be too much longer. Give 'em a few more days."

Whilst he didn't usually break his cool demeanour Marco was worried about Thatch. It was strange for him to run over a week late when off on a mission. In fact, it was more than unusual-it just didn't happen.

Ever

But if pops said it'd be okay, then he would trust that.

* * *

><p>"Ugh..."<p>

Ace jerked upright, grabbing his head as he tried to think back to what happened. The room he was in appeared to be some kind of storage room with what appeared to be rum barrels pushed to one side to make room for the bed he was currently sitting in.

Throwing off the thin blankets, Ace headed to the door and made it to the railing before slumping awkwardly onto the gently rocking ground.

How could he have lost? And to the man that was said to be equivalent to _him_.

His hands grasped his head again. How could he ever find his purpose if he was always in that man's shadow?

A new surge of determination flowed through his veins. He could do it, and he would. Whitebeard's head would be his and then no one would doubt he had surpassed _him_.

Sneaking slowly and softly, Ace made his way to the mast behind Whitebeard's chair. Pulling out his knife he threw himself towards the old man concentration creasing his brow.

Whilst a connection was made, it wasn't Ace's desired one as he was sent flying down the deck of the large ship and skidded to a halt what felt like hours later.

Pulling himself up to his hands and knees, Ace fell onto his backside in shock at the proximity of the huge man who was now kneeling in front of him.

Whitebeard grinned widely, curling his monster moustache into an upturned banana "It'd be a shame for such talent go to waste, so how 'bout it? Join my crew! Bear my flag and become my son! You'll be able to roam the seas and if it's the fightn' you want I won't stop you. So?"

"LIKE HELL!"

Ace lunged towards the old man, his eyes full of murderous intent until he once again found himself flying through the air, over the edge of the deck and into the cold water below.

Sighing Whitebeard rose to his feet.

"Someone go get 'im before he drowns."

A voice rang out "Aye Captain", followed by a splash into the sea moments later.

Shaking his head Whitebeard settled back into his chair as he watched a couple of the men pull up the 'brat' and one of his sons onto the deck, whilst a few others scurried around carrying pieces of wood waiting to fix the rather dangerous hole in the railing.

Marco, who had been sitting off to the front of the boat watched on with vague interest, not really believing that the young man had attempted for a second time to take his father's head.

One week. That was how long this nonsense had been going on. Marco could feel his cool facade dropping with every minute. Not only had Thatch still not returned now two weeks overdue but this new brat had still not given up.

Ace, in the span of a week, had managed to be thrown, blown and blasted off the deck no less than a hundred times; not including all the times that he'd taken a blow and somehow managed to stay onboard, and frankly, Marco had just about had enough.

"Yoi, Thatch is so much better at these things than I am."

He looked back down to the bowl of soup he was carrying. It was nothing much, a bit of meat and vegetables in a broth-type thing. He didn't know, there was a reason why he wasn't let into the kitchens often.

Marco released a soft sigh, some peace offering had to better than none. Walking slowly towards the fiery young man –in more ways than one- Marco placed the bowl down beside Ace before giving him some space.

Ace looked at the food. Every fibre within his body was yearning to eat the food he'd been offered. This was the closest to food he'd been all week. Sure there was food stored in the room he was in but there was no chance he was going to touch it, but this...

No. He wouldn't.

His gaze shifted from the bowl to his knees then to the retreating figure of Marco who had thought it would be best to just leave Ace to his own devices having not received any kind of response as of yet.

"Why do you all call him pops?"

Marco stopped in his tracks surprised that he had actually managed to get something out of him. Making his way closer to Ace, Marco thought about his answer.

Why _did_ they call pops, pops? He'd never really thought about it before, it had just been so natural to accept Whitebeard when he'd...

"We call him pops, because he's our father."

Not quite registering the look on Ace's face he thought it best to continue.

"No matter where we were from we were all once outcasts, but pops offered us something more. We belong here. We all have our place within the family and pops is our father. It doesn't matter that society hates us 'cause we don't care 'bout them anymore."

Ace considered what he'd been told. It was just like back then. With their new father, society's opinion didn't matter, Dadan's opinion didn't matter and Garp's...well his never really mattered in the first place.

They were a family and they were bigger and stronger than anything anyone ever threw at them.

The memories brought a smile to his face for the first time since he'd been on the Moby Dick. Marco smiled gently hoping that Ace's reaction was a result of his words.

"Captain! Fourth division is coming in starboard! The boat looks pretty bad!"

Marco snapped to attention at the news. Rushing to the side of the boat, he didn't wait for his captains orders as he leapt from the railing diving into the air and flying towards the ship.

Ace, also swept up in the movement on the ship moved to the railing looking for the boat under the command of the fourth division leader. Having spent the past week trying to kill off the old man, Ace hadn't really bothered to learn who anyone was, only remembering Marco due to his seemingly constant presence. Now however, he'd gained an interest in working out the 'family' structure and the fourth division commander was clearly someone he'd need to be aware of.

"Change course, head for the others!"

The words of the captain sparked the other spectating crew members into action, swiftly working the ship towards the other much smaller boat. Ace remained where he was not yet feeling the need to respond to Whitebeard's orders.

When they finally pulled alongside the boat, its residents started climbing up the ropes like professionals, smiling and laughing like Marco hadn't been stressing his feathers off.

"I can't believe you're okay! What the hell took you so long! You can't be late and not be hurt! Why the hell aren't you hurt?"

The ranting of Marco could be heard even over the noise of the rest of the celebrating crew, glad to have their family back with no apparent losses.

"My apologies his royal phoenix-ness, I didn't realise that coming back alive and in one piece was such a serious transgression; in future I'll be sure to make sure I return a limb short."

"That's not what I meant! I just meant..."

"Hahaha... oh Marco you are so wound up."

Jumping up onto deck the two commanders playfully shoved each other whilst heading towards their smiling captain.

"Thatch, son, it's good to have you back!"

Previously shifted out of the returning men's way Ace's attention was focused solely on Whitebeard before searching for Marco and the fourth division commander.

Weaving his way through the partying masses of men Ace finally broke out just to the other side of Whitebeard allowing a clear view of Marco and...

"DAD?"


	6. Without a Wallet

"No."

"WHAT? WHY NOT?"

"I'm not interested, now leave me ALONE"

"Fine I'll bend... Join my crew_ please_."

The green-haired man's irritation was unavoidably obvious as he stared at the woman in disbelief. She'd been following him for the last two hours; ever since he'd saved some little girl from a crazy-eyed dog and his weirdo owner (Hippo or something? He hadn't cared enough to listen properly) but he was almost at his limits.

"What part of 'NO' do you not understand?"

He had barely shut his mouth before Luffy's retort was sent back.

"And what part of 'join my crew' do you not understand?"

"Grrr!"

Running his right hand down his face the sword wielder decided that he was clearly wasting his time. She wasn't listening and he wasn't going to change his mind no matter how many times she asked, begged or pleaded.

Luffy on the other hand, couldn't understand why Zoro was being so stubborn. It was clearly the best thing for the both of them. She needed a crew and he needed...well, whatever it was he needed, so obviously it made sense for him to join. 'No' just wasn't a choice, no matter what the swordsman thought.

"Stop following me."

The deadpan voice floated lowly towards Luffy as Zoro continued to weave his was down the busy market place looking for a way to ditch his afternoon stalker without trying to have to outpace her. He'd already tried that approach twice with both attempts ending in dismal failure.

Normally his words of warning would have discouraged anyone from following him, but in Luffy's case they had appeared to have the opposite effect.

Bouncing up and down faster than Zoro thought was possible, Luffy's excitement peaked with the realisation that he had offered her the start of a conversation rather than just responding to one of her own questions. To her this was a very positive sign of progress.

"No see, you'd be following me, 'cause I'm the Captain! But don't sweat it, I'm just glad you finally agreed to join my crew!"

"What? No, I-"

Luffy continued. "After all you said you wanted to be the world's greatest swordsman, right? Well, I'd expect nothing less, with me going to be the King of the Pirates and all! So really there's nowhere else you could go or anyone else you could go with, otherwise you won't reach your dream 'cause how else are you gonna get round the world to know you're the best?"

Had a wall or table been at a closer proximity, Zoro imagined it would becoming rather well acquainted with his head. Reputation be damned.

"What kind of logic is that?"

Luffy ignored Zoro's exasperated comment and continued to prattle rather exuberantly on why her illogical logic was indeed logical.

Reaching the local tavern Luffy steered the mentally drained Zoro, unable to comprehend how Luffy could possibly take two completely unrelated things and make it seem as if they'd been related the entire time, to a table that already had a customer talking to the waitress.

"Oh! Hey Luffy. You found Zoro then?"

"Yup! Zoro, this is Coby. He's gonna be a marine."

Head still reeling from the mental battering he'd just received, Zoro simply nodded dumbly in acknowledgement. It wasn't until the two were seated and their orders had been taken that Zoro's head snapped to attention.

"Why the hell are we eating with a MARINE? We're PIRATES! This sh*t ain't supposed to 'appen!"

The remainder of the customers chatted on as if his explosion had never happened. Pirates and marines were not unusual visitors to the island and they had come to accept the strange ways of both breeds of men (and women). It was now understood that outbursts were a highly regular occurrence and should just be expected from the not completely unwelcomed strangers.

Coby gave a weak laugh, sounding more like a choked chuckle. "Well I'm not actually a marine yet. Luffy saved me from an evil pirate; she was absolutely amazing! I mean, you should have seen the way..."

Noticing the less than impressed face of Zoro, Coby thought it'd be best to wrap his story up quickly.

"...and um well, she brought me here so I could join the marines, which hasn't happened yet."

"I see..."

Zoro clearly not understanding what he was being told was thankful as the waitress came back with their pile of food and drink.

Luffy smiled with absolute glee as the only thought that crossed her mind was foodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfood.

Coby quickly snatched a plate off the table and brought it to rest on his lap, not really caring what it was as long as he'd now get something to eat before Luffy devoured everything given to them.

Arms flew everywhere as Luffy stuffed food down her throat faster than Zoro thought possible, causing him to wonder if she could actually breathe, whilst shoving the copious amounts of food into her mouth. Shrugging off her lack of table manners Zoro put it down to she-was-a-pirate-so-what-the-hell so he too dug in, not even coming close to matching the speed Luffy had set.

Once the food was gone Luffy stretched back in her chair patting her stomach in content.

"Thanks for lunch Zoro"

"WHAT?"

"I don't have any money." Laughed Luffy.

Zoro's previously contented mood dropped instantly.

"YOU CAN'T EAT LUNCH AND THEN EXPECT OTHERS TO PAY FOR IT, YOU MORON!" 

* * *

><p>Sorry about it not uploading properly earlier, I'm not sure what went wrong<p> 


	7. A Hundred and Thirtysix

"DAD!"

...

...

...

...

"DAAAD?"

The overwhelming cry from the rest of the crews occupants made Ace take a step towards the edge of the boat in his fight or flight response.

Thatch had shortly joined his family in a state of shock before his expression shifted to a gleaming smile that resounded through his eyes.

He'd know that obnoxiously orange hat anywhere.

He_ had_ bought it after all.

Whitebeard's laughter rang out as he took in the situation; his startled sons remained paralysed in a state of open mouth, wide eyes and eyebrows disappearing into hairlines as they tried to digest the situation like a bad lunch.

He knew of his 'grandchildren' of course, Thatch had talked about them often enough.

Thatch was constantly teased about being the only other father onboard the Moby, which had resulted in his nicknaming of the 'eldest' son despite being younger than many of his brothers, both in physical age and Whitebeard-ian years.

It was also no secret that Whitebeard held a certain interest for his unofficial 'grandchildren', keeping an eye on the young ones in the newspapers to see if any matched that of the elusive 'Luffy' and 'Ace'.

It was therefore, a surprise to see his own children act as if the possibility of meeting any of Thatch's children was the same as the marines boarding to invite them to a tea party.

The grin dropped off his face momentarily as images of Garp and the admirals drinking tea with extended pinkies and eating delicate sandwiches crossed his mind with a realisation of how disturbing the actual scenario would be.

Thatch's change in expression however, was enough to spur Ace forward and into his father's arms, briefly reverting back to his ten year old self.

"Dad!"

"Omph!"

Thatch shifted his left foot back slightly to take the weight of his grown son that had seemingly forgotten that he was almost three times his old size and now built of solid muscle.

Thatch returned the offered embrace noticing that despite all of Ace's growth he still remained shorter than his own frame, which was admittedly a pleasing thing for Thatch. He could imagine the torture he would have had to endure from Marco if his 'son' had turned up bigger and stronger than he was.

Ace had always been the least emotional towards him of all of his children, often avoiding displays of affection with any excuse he could come up with, 'Hugs are for girls' was the most frequently used from memory, but this was definitely one time that Thatch would let the past slide.

Finally pulling back, Ace's grin radiated with happiness as he bounced up and down with childish excitement looking to the man whose opinion meant more to him than he ever thought possible.

However before anything could be said Ace was whisked out from in front of Thatch by Marco.

"You mean to tell me that I've not only been babysitting the brat all this time but I've been babysitting YOUR brat! Man you owe me big time..."

Marco's continuous ranting was tuned out by Ace and Thatch as they just smirked at each other over Marco's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take you out for a drink when we hit port your highness."

Weaving around the comically fuming Marco, Thatch clasped Ace by the shoulder guiding him closer towards Whitebeard.

"Hey Pops, sorry I was late getting back we ran into a minor issue..."

"A MINOR ISSUE! YOUR SHIP IS IN TATTERS! THAT IS NOT MINOR!"

Thatch raised a single eyebrow at his 'sibling',

"What's ruffled your tail feathers? You've been actin' pretty weird since we got back Marco. You sure you aren't getting sick or something?"

Everyone else, having snapped out of their shocked stupors looked to Marco, he had been acting pretty weird.

His cool and calm demeanour had been at breaking point over the past few weeks as a result of Ace's constant attempts on Whitebeard's life and had since completely shattered with the return of Thatch.

Marco looked about ready to pop out an egg and Ace was quick to inform him,

"Maybe he's just getting ready for his first hatchling"

"My first WHAT?"

"You don't have to be ashamed of it you know, I'm sure dad would be happy to give you some advice about raising kids, he raised us after all."

"I..What...no...are you implying?"

"Ace... lay off Marco...it's not his fault he doesn't know how to handle his first delivery..."

Thatch barely repressed his snickers as he watched Marco change colours from a raging red to a vibrant purple and then an electrifying blue.

"Oooh he really looks ready to pop now..."

Fed up with the father-son tag team that were clearly enjoying tormenting him, Marco charged forward aiming his renowned kick towards Ace who happened to be the closer of the two.

His leg was caught however by Thatch's firm grip.

"Alright Marco, that enough, we're sorry, right Ace?"

When the silence dragged on longer than Thatch was happy with he gave Ace his best 'apologise now or else' look that he had not lost, in spite of his time away from his constantly squabbling children.

"Just kidding Marco-san"

The only response Marco gave was a grunt as he stormed below deck.

"That was a bit too far Thatch; he's been worried about you,"

Thatch looked the most sheepish Ace had ever seen him as he addressed Whitebeard.

"Sorry Pops, I'll talk to him later."

Whitebeard nodded his head in approval as Thatch returned to his previous report.

"Well yeah, we had a minor issue but we took care of it. As for this one here, this is my middle boy, Ace, the biggest hot head."

Aces previously smiling face dropped as his father's words sunk in,

"HEY! As if! I'm so not the hot headed one!"

"Mm hmm... sure I'll believe it when I see it, hot head."

Grrrr

Folding his arms across his chest Ace pouted as Thatch and Whitebeard laughed at him.

"Well he's definitely persistent. What are you up to now boy, a hundred? It'd have to be at least a hundred times."

"A hundred and thirty-six Capt'in"

Thatch's eyebrows narrowed in response,

"A hundred and thirty-six what?"

Ace realising the predicament he was in discreetly moved back away from his father and towards the boats edge.

"A hundred and thirty-six times he's attempted to take pop's head"

Was the response given from a still disgruntled Marco who had since returned from below deck to witness his reaction to this little nugget of gold.

"YOU TRIED TO DO WHAT!"

"Heh-heh-heh, a... well you see..."

The murderous glint in Thatch's eye forced Ace into a flat out sprint as he headed to the other end of the boat which would end up being a fruitless attempt to escape the wrath of Thatch.


	8. Desert Storm

The desert sands were harsh against his eyes but it did not deter the man as he stood facing towards the eastern seas.

His heavy cloak rustled around his frame as he thought about how much there was that still had to be done.

It would take at least two years, three probably at the current state of things.

It was not helping that Iva had gone and got himself caught by the government. That alone had set the plan back four to five months.

His lips twitched slightly at the thought of his...strange friend.

Iva had always had the strangest desires to be the one going on undercover missions, even if it was just to witness something, despite knowing, well at least it was hoped that he knew, that his appearance would attract more attention than the destruction of the entire world government.

Now that was a thought that brought a true smile to the man's face.

It was only a matter of time.

Time, planning and executing said planning with absolute precision.

The Government would fall, the marines, Garp the Hero, Sengoku, all of them.

None would be left standing to oppose the new freedom that was to come.

That, was if everything went to plan.

Currently the pieces on the board were moving into place smoother than had been expected, with additional pawns not previously anticipated, being of much use to their cause.

Whitebeard was one of them, drawing most of the marines' attention allowing for their more difficult manoeuvres to be carried out earlier than he'd believed possible. Not to mention the decreased restrictions of their movements also came as a relief, compared to having the marines sniffing around every corner out of suspicion.

"Dragon!"

"mmm...?"

A young man rested against the door frame most of his weight balanced on one foot with his arms crossed against his chest as he waited for a proper response from the man he had called Dragon.

With a stoic mask on his face Dragon turned to face his strongest front line man despite his appearance suggesting that he had only recently left boy-hood behind him.

Having not received an answer, the new man tried a second time,

"You okay?"

"Fine"

Realising that, that was all he was going to get in terms of a response he decided to just cut to the chase. He'd been around long enough to know that idle talk and fancy foot working around a topic was considered a waste of time and not something to partake in on a regular basis.

"Everyone's assembled."

"That's good."

He might have known it but it didn't stop him missing the days when he had time enough to talk about the simple things or even the days when he had people to talk to about anything other than the project at hand.

Taking a risk albeit a small one he took his tattered hat off his head and walked towards Dragon who had returned to his staring out to the east.

"Dragon, they will get impatient if you stay out here much longer. They're getting restless, everyone is. The marines are distracted why aren't we doing more? We have the-"

"Not yet."

The young man tilted his head slightly out of confusion. What was he thinking? Opening his mouth to continue his case he was halted by Dragons arm coming up to rest on his shoulder.

"Not yet. We will move when it is our time. Our time has not yet come. When it does, we will be ready, until then we wait and prepare. Nothing more. Understood?"

He'd spent the almost the last ten years with this man, grown and learnt almost everything he knew from him and still his plans were not always clear. But if he was told to wait he would, and he'd keep the others on standby until the orders were made completely clear.

"Would you like me to tell the others that there has been no change and to continue with their previous orders?"

Dragon raised an eyebrow, silently questioning why he was still here and not already informing the others.

"Right, well I'll go do that now."

Striding back through the door his hand caught the frame as he spun back around to face Dragon once more.

"No word from Iva and the others?"

"No."

Sighing with the lack of information he'd managed to wrangle from Dragon during their talk, the blonde man headed back inside towards the hoard of older men that would mostly likely be waiting to release their frustration out on him.

'Most people', he thought bitterly, 'shy away from change, but no, the one group that crave it is the group that I have to tell otherwise'.

Crossing the threshold into the 'Seakings' den he winced ever so slightly as the arguing stopped and the expectant expressions came at him full force...this was not going to be fun.


	9. No Dice

Ace sat pouting like a child as he nursed the eggplant coloured bump on the back of his head courtesy of one still rather fuming father.

"Daaaaaad. I said I was sorry. I didn't know promise!"

His whining was amusing Marco to no end. The incessant apologises had not yet grown old as he continued to sit nearby and listen as the brat tried to weasel his way back into Thatches good graces.

So far, it was no dice for the fire wielder.

Although if past experiences where anything to go by Marco realised that it was unlikely that Ace would give up anytime soon, and if anything he was most interested in seeing how long it would be before Thatch cracked.

Marco smiled shifting in his seat as Aces' posture changed and a new mischievous glint appeared within his eyes.

It may take him a while to openly warm to the kid, but if he was going to produce as much entertainment as he had been so far, things might just work out faster than previously thought.

"Hey Dad"

...

"Dad?"

...

...

"Daaaaaaaaaad"

...

...

...

"Don't make me do it dad..."

...

...

"You don't really want me to do it do you?"

...

...

"I will"

Expanding his lungs to full oxygen capacity Ace tilted his head back slightly in preparation.

"Da-"

"Don't you dare."

Thatches hand plastered itself over Ace's mouth his other resting (or squashing depending on who's side you where on) on Ace's head.

"Mmm..mmm..hm!"

The glaring gaze that had previously resided over Thatches face had been replaced with a smirking, still slightly mad but more annoyed look, which to Ace indicated getting a step closer to the 'good books'.

"Serves you right"

The interaction of the two had become incredibly fascinating to the ever watching Marco. His curiosity had peaked with a new interest in finding out just what it was Thatch _didn't_ want Ace saying. Blackmail material? Marco hoped so.

Thatch may have thought he'd won but Ace knew better.

Marco knew better too as the glint grew stronger in Ace's eyes.

It was Ace's over confidence that lead to the searing disappointment in both himself and in Marco when the slippery trail of saliva failed to break Thatches grasp.

"Not a chance kiddo."

Ace's shoulders slumped.

Surely that had not, not worked Ace thought furiously. It always worked.

Bugger.

In that case Ace new he only had his final drawcard left. If this didn't work he'd be spending a lifetime apologising.

...

...

...

"Ace? ACE! Why you little bugger don't you fall asleep on me!"

Dropping his hands to grasp Ace's shoulders, Thatch shook him back and forth like a ragdoll being held above a girls head by the local bully.

Marco silently sweat dropped as he watched the scene in front of him. And Thatch was supposed to be the more mature of the two of them how exactly?


	10. Fire Starter

"Careful!"

"I AM being careful! Stop sitting so close! I can't focus with your face there!"

Luffy stuck her bottom lip out as she shrunk back slightly so her face wasn't quite touching her precious.

Nami, still in denial that she was ever going to become part of a pirate crew, reeked with agitation as the younger woman continued to fidget with an unbelievable level of paranoia over the current activity taking place onboard.

Delicately threading the needle through the straw, Nami's shoulders tensed as the captain let out a hiss of concern.

Popping out her vertebrae and shoulders Nami leant backwards onto the railing of the boat raising a single brow at Luffy.

"If you can't watch in silence don't watch at all 'cause frankly you're making this a hell of a lot more difficult than it is."

The pitiful whine of a response, "But I don't want it to get hurt..." was shrugged off by the rather hard hearted navigator.

"Too bad. If you don't want me to do it you can do it yourself!"

"WHAT? NO, no way! How on earth do you fix a hat!"

The panic that consumed Luffy was enough for Zoro to finally wake up from his 'nap'.

"What you yellin bout Moron?"

Running his hand down his face Zoro understood completely the irritation his newest crewmate was suffering.

Luffy, he had quickly come to realise, was more than a handful at the best of times, and if this hat was her 'treasure' then it was unlikely that Nami would be able to patch it back together without Luffy's nervously vibrating body catching the boat on fire.

He hadn't believed it was possible to set something alight without a match or flame before, but with Luffy anything imaginable and even the unimaginable appeared to becoming a reality.

"Luffy, give Nami a break the more you sit there watching the longer it's gonna take and the worse the jobs gonna be."

Nami's indignant glare was lost on Zoro, at least she knew how to fix a hat, he'd probably slice it to shreds as his way of 'fixing' it.

Luffy also missed the deathly gaze sent her way when she started to refute what she really knew to be true.

"But..."

Not giving her a chance to come up with any type of excuse, especially not one of her ridiculously complex, confusing arguments that usually lead him to being so baffled that he just ended up agreeing to whatever the hell she wanted.

"Why don't you just have a look and see if there's an island coming up or somethin"

Pausing for the first time since Nami had been given possession of her hat, Luffy allowed this new suggestion to sink through her first layer, the second...third...

"Land! Land! Land! I wonder where we'll end up next hopeful someplace cool with a big forest! Oh! And someone to join the crew!"

Appearing at the top of the admittedly very short mast, of their yet to be upsized travel vessel, Luffy scanned the horizon intently looking for even the tiniest speck that would indicate a new adventure.

...

...

...

"LAND!"

"DONE!"

The two cries came simultaneously and with equal pleasure as Nami finally rid herself of a task she never wished to be responsible for again, and Luffy zeroed in on a new place to explore and discover.

Jumping back down to the boats' floor Luffy swiped her hat out of Nami's hands offering less of a 'thanks' than Nami believed she deserved.

"Com'on let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

Luffy darted around the small boat in a new overflow of energy from her seemingly endless supply, grinning with face that Nami wasn't quite sure she trusted.

In fact Nami felt it was about time she high-tailed it back home, buried her treasure and found the next sucker that she could use to steal from.

Matching Luffy's grin with her own, Nami steered the ships towards the spotted island with a devious 'Aye-aye Captian'. 

* * *

><p>Hey everyone, I have exams starting next week so chapters may not come for a few weeks but I'll do my best to get them up regularly :)<p> 


	11. I Said I'm Sorry

Sorry that it took so long for this chapter.

* * *

><p>"I'm <em>really<em> sorry, Dad"

It had taken two days of non-stop pleading, begging, incessant apologising and a final narcoleptic fit to get Ace back on proper speaking terms with Thatch.

"Yeah, yeah, kiddo, I know, but you need to think more before you act."

Dipping his head in a semi-state of shame, Ace just nodded along, not wanting to have Thatch angry at him again.

He couldn't remember a time that Thatch had been so angry or really disappointed with him.

Sure he got angry sometimes when the three of them had messed up, or caused trouble in town, but it had never been a problem.

More often than not, Thatch's anger was sparked by fear.

Fear of the possible 'what if' situations in which one or more of them could have been hurt by their stunts backfiring.

A sudden realisation dawned on Ace as he looked over to his father that now had a gentle smile resting on his face...He had probably found the humour in the situation of Ace trying to take Pops' head.

He wouldn't be laughing after The News though.

Ace knew he had to tell him.

But to tell him meant admitting to something that he and Luffy had chosen to leave in the past- to minimise the pain.

It was an unavoidable topic, but was sooner really better then later?

Maybe he could get away with waiting for a bit. Not too long that it looked like he was hiding the subject, but just long enough that the happy segment of their reunion, which had yet to come, wasn't over shadowed.

_I'm being selfish._

Swiping his hat off his head, Ace spun it gently in his hands.

A small smile graced his own face as he remembered Luffy's words.

"_Did you ever actually thank Dad for it?"_

Well, now was as good as ever.

"Ahh... Dad?"

"Mmmm"

"You know... I never really thanked you for my hat. I wear it all the time."

Thatch chuckled briefly. "Well I couldn't have you being the odd one out without a hat, now could I?"

"No, I wouldn't want to be the oddball."

The two met each other's gaze before chuckling to themselves. They were all strange in their own way; it was their individual quirks that made them a perfect family.

At least for the time which they had been able to spend together.

"Speaking of oddballs how is my little girl? I'll presume you haven't seen her since you left."

Ace nodded his head in agreement.

Trust Thatch to ask about Luffy first. Had Sabo been standing in his place, he had no doubt that the question order would have been the same.

It's not that he minded. In fact, he was currently thankful that Luffy was the first topic of discussion.

He'd just come to learn that Luffy had this magic that always allowed her to worm her way into the centre of people hearts'.

His own was no exception.

"She was good, a little sad that she had to wait before she could head out as well, but still as energetic as always."

"Hahaha, no kidding. If there was one thing I don't think she ever grow out of it's her endless energy supply."

"Yeah."

Both men paused, as they thought back to the young girl that probably wielded the most power over them than any other individual in the Grand Line or beyond.

* * *

><p>"Daaadddyyy!"<p>

...

...

...

"Daaadddyyy!"

"Yes, precious?"

Ace and Sabo sniggered lightly at the term of endearment Thatch had so bequeathed to Luffy.

Whilst Luffy was important, between the two of them they had decided that 'precious' had connotations of being breakable. Something that Luffy was definitely not.

Ace was most thankful that he hadn't been given a pet-name. He was Ace. Just Ace, none of this nickname nonsense like 'sport', 'champ', 'fire-cracker'... really, who calls anyone fire-cracker?

"Hungry."

The simple six-letter word was one that Thatch was becoming thoroughly acquainted with.

"You just had breakfast Lu, can't you wait another hour or two then we can having morning tea if your still hungry."

_There he goes again,_ Ace thought. Another variation; at least 'Lu', was only a shortening: it was another thing that he'd managed to avoid.

Sabo, on the other hand, had not.

Whilst only one letter longer, Sabo had managed to be cut down to Sab. A reduction which could solely be blamed on Luffy.

"No."

Sabo and Ace knew only too well how this was going to end.

They had been subjected to what they called the Luffy Digestive Disease, or LDD when Luffy was present, long enough to know that Thatch would never win.

"Baby-girl, you can't eat all the time otherwise you'll get sick and not be able to come practise with me and the boys later."

"Don't care. Hungry. Food. Now."

Thatch and Luffy became engaged in a searing staring contest neither willing to give up, Luffy because she wanted food, and Thatch because he knew he shouldn't bend to Luffy's every demand... at least that's what his parenting book had told him.

Twenty minutes later Luffy and Thatch still continued to stare at each other whilst Ace and Sabo were plotting out a new scheme to use against potential enemies or just as a general prank on unsuspecting towns folk.

"If you don't gimme food I won't talk to you ever again."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You just talked to me"

"I hadn't started you meanie! Give me food!"

Teasing her like that had been childish, but Thatch was really at a stretch for what to do. He felt like he was feeding the child 24 hours a day.

Exasperated he broke their 'game' searching for help from Sabo.

Looking up from their scheming, Sabo's response had not been the one Thatch was hoping for.

"Just give her food."

Totally defeated, Thatch caved, deciding that the mental strain of fighting with Luffy was too great to warrant the effort required.

* * *

><p>"She would have been set lose on the ocean by now."<p>

Thatch mused as he scanned the oceans horizon, as if by some miracle she'd pop out of nowhere.

"Where did Sabo end up? I didn't think you two would travel together but you never know, did he set sail by himself."

This was what Ace hadn't wanted to hear.

"Ahh...Well Sabo-"

"Yoi! Thatch! Brat! Come on, dinner's ready!"

Marco's disruption caused a toothy smile on Thatch's face.

"Come on, they're like Lu, if you take too long it's all gone."

Ace's lips twitched in response still anxious about what he'd eventually have to tell Thatch.

Walking with Thatch to the mess hall Ace sighed as he took in the frenzy of men eating like it was their last meal.

_What was one more day to ten years?_


	12. Liar Liar

"You're a liar."

...

...

...

"Eehhhh!"

Luffy pouted as she looked upon her newest crewmember.

There was hardly a ripple disturbing the eastern seas and, as far as Luffy was concerned nothing equated to boring more than a flat ocean with nothing to do.

Usopp had provided a momentary spark of interest when he retold and re-enacted a "true story" from his life back home.

Defeating a ten foot monster that not only had six eyes but thirty-three ears, forcing him to remain completely silent whist taking out one eye at a time before the finishing blow.

A blow that was a 'cut' short by Zoro.

"What an idiot. Luffy, there is no such thing as a Zimberwagon."

It was this blunt statement that had cruelly pulled Luffy out of a mystical world created by the 'Brave Captain Usopp'.

Whilst Luffy's displeasure was focused onto the now shocked and indignant Usopp, Nami's was acutely directed at Zoro.

"Stupid swords-man, why didn't you just leave them be? Now Luffy's just gonna get bored again. Ugh!"

Said swords-man didn't offer any reply or bothered to take any really notice of the anger now directed at him. Instead he chose to close his eyes and will for another nap to take hold before Luffy did something else or believed something else equally moronic.

Nami, highly unimpressed by the bunch of idiots she'd managed to surround herself with, couldn't imagine the situation any worse unless Luffy turned into an idiotic, bored, _male_ pirate. Although, if she was in fact a he, Nami thought she could almost find it in her heart to forgive 'him'.

Or maybe not.

BOOM!

"AH!"

Nami collapsed to the floor, clutching her chest as she tried to slow her erratic breathing.

In two, three, four, out one, two, three, four...

Rotating herself around to face the cause of her most recent heart-attack, she knew she should have guessed.

Luffy + cannons = BOOM

Now if only she could somehow rearrange the equation...

"What was that? It was rubbish! My Grandma could shoot better than that without her glasses on!"

Usopp clearly not impressed by Luffy's shooting abilities, strode over to the cannon, manoeuvring Luffy to one side before examining the usually lethal weapon, providing it wasn't being manned by one Monkey D. Luffy.

"No. No. You had it set up all wrong. No wonder it was 'defective'"

The under breath mutterings continued as Usopp worked his way around the cannon shifting it slightly to make sure that the recoil didn't damage the ship.

"Hit the rock."

"What?"

Not that she cared, but Nami was certain that 'the liar's' neck had snapped from the speed at which he turned to look at Luffy.

Unchanging Luffy's arm remained outstretched pointed solely towards a rather random rock jutting out from the ocean floor.

Beads of sweat pooling at his hairline were quickly swiped away, as Usopp sought to prove his earlier point.

"All right, I will then!"

One cannon ball and one destroyed rock later Usopp was declared the boats chief sniper and cannon master by the ships rather jovial straw hat wearer as a result of the past explosion.

The high, thankfully and unfortunately refused to wear off for the next half hour as Luffy practically danced about the _Going Merry_ singing nonsensical words about things exploding.

Usopp had joined in partially, falling dead on his back after ten minutes, unable to keep the pace the speedster set in both her words and actions.

During their 'song' fest, Zoro had returned to his semi-comatose state, leaving only one ear open for approaching danger or threats.

Meanwhile Nami, being incredibly unimpressed by the entire situation, had slunk back up to the wheel, keeping an eye on the clouds gently floating to the west and avoiding the hyper-active teen that she was still currently calling 'Captain'.


	13. It's Still Gonna Hurt

Stepping out of the noisy hall, Ace exhaled as he let the salty breeze blow through his body.

Making his way over to the boat's edge, he leant on the railing, looking up at the unobscured stars.

He hadn't spoken much throughout dinner with most crew members raising their voices over one another to tell him embarrassing stories about his dad and asking for others in return.

His stories never made it past "Well there was one time..." before he would be cut off by another story Ace wasn't sure he really wanted to hear.

Releasing a deep sigh, Ace clasped his hands together as they rested on the wood that he had only blasted through less than two weeks prior.

Dropping his head to his hands Ace focused on his breathing in attempt to let everything else slip away.

From any other point of view Ace would have looked like he was praying, but Thatch knew better.

At least he still hoped he knew better.

After tonight he wasn't too sure.

Something was off in Ace's demeanour and he wasn't certain if it was best to let it slide or pull him up on it.

Another reminder to Thatch of how little Ace had ever been capable of expressing his emotions, even after an entire year of calling him dad.

Deciding that he wouldn't push the issue too hard, Thatch slowly wandered over, agilely and prudently manoeuvring himself to be seated close but not too close to Ace.

Ace felt his presences but didn't move.

'Band-aid' he thought.

"Band-aids are awful things."

"They are indeed."

"Because... no matter how you do it it's still gonna hurt the same."

"No matter how you do it it's still gonna hurt the same"

Ace smiled gently at his father's echo.

It was a line Thatch had used regularly with Luffy whenever she hurt herself.

Silence washed over the pair again.

Thatch had promised he wasn't going to push, but he'd never said anything about nudging discreetly.

Opening his mouth to speak what would have probably ended up a punch in the face rather than a 'gentle nudge', Thatch was cut off by Ace.

"He's gone."

Ace refused to look at Thatch as he spoke.

Instead he kept his gaze focused on the water below, wishing it would wash up over the boat and drag him under.

The 'he' in question was an automatic deduction for the older man.

The only other person it could have been was Garp, and the chances of him not hearing of that prior to this were slim.

Sabo.

Thatch allowed his head to fall into his palm, as millions of questions flittered through his brain.

The most prominent being,

When?

How?

Why hadn't he been there to stop it?

Was there a who involved?

None of these questions would be answered if he didn't ask.

Though there were so many he didn't know where to start.

Ace snuck a glimpse of his father out of the corner of his eye.

He'd never really given Thatch enough credit for caring for them, always remaining slightly sceptical.

That was something he regretted now.

Deciding it needed to be said Ace answered Thatch's unspoken questions.

"It was about three months after you left. We were in town and a police officer recognised him. Turns out his 'father' was looking for him. Anyways we got caught in the middle of a prank; we'd snuck into a restaurant you know the really upmarket one with the fake French guys?"

Thatch bobbed his head, he knew the one, owner was a... well something he wouldn't say in front of the kids.

"We tried endlessly to get him out of there but every time we got close somethin' would happen and we'd have to run."

Ace ran his hands over his face as the memories of their countless attempts flashed through his mind.

He should have tried harder.

He could have done something, anything.

"'Bout a month later, he managed to escape, but he didn't come back. Thought that if he did we'd all get caught probably, so he set out to sea early."

He shook his head, he really couldn't do this. He hadn't thought of that day in years, it was too much.

"Ace, what happened?"

Thatch's voice seemed to calm his shuddering breaths slightly.

"He got...He was blown out of the water...by nobles...a celestial dragon...Dogra saw it all, Luffy and I weren't there."

_We should have been._

The unvoiced message permeating his last words was crystal clear,

_We __**all**__ should have been there._


	14. Wise words

Still and silent neither of the two had made any attempt to move or say anything more in the past hour they had been outside.

Marco had come out for a moment before hightailing it back inside upon feeling that it was most definitely not the time for an interruption.

He may enjoy picking on Thatch but there were times when even he knew that his humour wouldn't be appreciated.

In the hour that they had been there Thatch had let the emotions course through him like they should.

Grief.

Guilt.

Anger.

Defiance.

The defiance lingered for longer than any of the others.

He couldn't truly accept it.

It was strange and he didn't really understand, but there was just this tingling that Ace was wrong.

Maybe he hadn't been as good a father as he thought he'd been.

Although he was certain that he had felt when Ace left to sea.

Again, more recently he had experienced the same thing.

_Luffy_

It was like he was going about his business and then he just _knew_ that they had left home.

It had definitely been stronger the second time, he had put it down with his closer connection with Luffy, but maybe it was just time he went to see the psychiatrist.

Deciding that he had left it long enough Thatch thought about what to say.

"Ace. We can't get back what we've lost. We just have to look at what we still have."

Ace looked at his father with slight disbelief.

He hadn't ever thought about it that way.

Although perhaps he had.

When Sabo had gone he focused on Luffy, keeping her safe, keeping her happy.

Though the words sounded wrong coming from Thatch.

With a quizzical look Ace questioned him.

"When did you get graced with wisdom?"

They smirked at each other slightly; Thatch had never really been someone anyone would consider 'wise'.

In fact most of the Whitebeard crew went into shock when they found out he'd been a dad to anyone, even three misfits, he was just so...not the type.

Thatch ran his hand down the back of his neck, to truth or not to truth?

"Ahhh...I might have nicked that one off Jinbe."

Like that the tension that had filled the night was broken.

They had each other, and Luffy was still safe (as safe as any pirate could be).

Sabo would not be forgotten, and if Thatch happened to come across an unsuspecting Noble well they might just wish they had of slept in for the morning...


	15. A Second Liar?

"Alas fair maiden I cannot protect you on your quest, for I am bound here, though if I were not, I would sail to the ends of the world with you."

The heart eyed cook pirouetted before producing a ridiculously long stemmed flower in his hands for Luffy.

Luffy took the flower somewhat hesitantly and sniffed at it twice before shrugging her shoulders and sticking it in her mouth.

Chewing thoughtfully Luffy looked at the stem.

Glancing down to the depressed chef, who had found his way to the floor in despair, she tilted her head in curiosity,

"Are you supposed to eat this part too?"

Zoro sniggered at Luffy's antics as well as those of the chef.

He didn't know what it was but there was just something about the guy that bugged him.

It might have been the way he had instantly come on to Luffy with anything but the intention of becoming her chef; well he might have offered to be 'her chef' but not in the way Luffy would have understood it.

He shrugged it off though.

He knew there was no way to sway Luffy once she'd decided so why bother getting worked up about it?

He'd just keep an eye on things and make sure the bastard didn't do anything...weird.

The other two shook their heads in a level of disbelief.

'Where _had_ this girl grown up' was definitely at the forefront of their minds.

Having not received a decent response as to why she shouldn't eat it, Luffy continued to plough through the steam as if it were a carrot or something equivalently easy and normal to eat.

Zoro was almost full out laughing at this stage as Sanji sunk further to the ground, small rain clouds forming around his head.

Somewhat sympathetic to the young man's attempts, Nami crouched down next to him patting his shoulder awkwardly with a 'there, there'.

Her words snapped him out of his state as he pulled her up with hearts back in his eyes.

"The heavens must be falling, for you are nothing short of an angel my princess, I will swim the world's oceans before letting anything hurting you, you have my solemn promise, alas I am..."

Holding up a hand Nami interrupted the rather flamboyant display of affection she was having pressed upon her.

"Wait, let me guess, some obstacle binds you here to the restaurant"

Momentarily thrown off by Nami's accurate statement, Sanji recovered at a lightning pace picking up his speech as if he had spoken the last line himself.

"My fair darling, it warms my pained heart that you understand our love so deeply."

During their conversation, providing it could be called such, Luffy's selective hearing had kicked in.

Picking up on the use of 'bind', Luffy tuned out again as her mind tried to process what she'd heard.

...

...

...

'Bind, bound, bounded.'

...

...

...

"What are you doing?"

This time all of her crew looked baffled and slightly perturbed as they looked down to a crouching Luffy who appeared to examining Sanji's legs.

Not bothering to look up at everyone Luffy continued her search standing when she failed to find what it was she was looking for.

"Are you a liar too?"

Usopp threw his hands up in shock as he realised the back handed comment that had been aimed at him (quite unintentionally on Luffy's behalf.)

"No! What is your problem?"

With the current onslaught of incredulous behaviour pouring out of Luffy, Sanji's mind had repressed the fact that she was a woman, possibly explaining his uncharacteristically rude outburst.

"Then I don't see how you're bound here, nothins keeping you attached to the ship, if it was I would have just broken it, so what gives?"

For what felt the hundredth time Sanji felt a tsunami of shock slam over him.

She could not be serious right?

She was joking, no one seriously thinks like that, right?

Sanji wasn't too sure as he searched her face for any trace of humour.

Her lips were in a thin straight line and her eyes were honestly questioning his metaphorical binding to the restaurant.

"Ahh..."

That was the genius response Sanji managed as he tried to explain his allegiance to the Baratie.

Zoro smiled as he settled himself at a free table beckoning Nami and Usopp to join him.

There was no chance chef-boy was going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

Not when his opposition was Luffy.

This wouldn't take terribly long, but he may as well get a meal out of it while he could no?

* * *

><p>R&amp;R please<p> 


	16. Good Enough

Sorry it's late and Time Skip Warning

* * *

><p>"Commander, huh?"<p>

"Well yeah I guess. I mean, the guys were saying..."

Ace shifted his weight onto his left foot as the conversation dragged on. He didn't want to step on Thatch's toes. And becoming second division commander was kinda jumping the gun.

In reality he hadn't been with the Whitebeard Pirates for long. Despite how close he felt to everyone, it had still only been months at most.

Not to mention it had taken Thatch many more months, even years before making it to fourth division commander.

Maybe it was too soon. He could wait. Besides, the ringing silence was hardly what Ace thought to be an encouraging response.

Choosing to backpedal on his initial ramblings Ace forced his mind to his earlier musings of the pro's and con's of being the commander.

Con's...con's...con's...

"...Actually maybe it's not a good idea...I'd just get everyone into trouble..."

"WHAT ARE YOU INSANE OF COURSE YOU SHOULD TAKE THE POSITION!"

Blink

Blink, blink

Blink

"What?"

Confusion riddled Ace's face as he tried to process what he'd heard.

So he should take the position?

But the earlier hesitation suggested otherwise.

Maybe it was false enthusiasm, hence the delayed reaction?

Could Thatch fake that much enthusiasm?

Would he fake enthusiasm?

Ace didn't think so...

"Of course you should take it Ace! Don't be ridiculous. You'll do just great, I believe you can do it and I'm sure Marco and the others feel the same."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Noticing the lingering doubt floating within Ace's eyes, Thatch placed his arms atop his son's shoulders.

Shaking him slightly, Thatch offered him his best 'reassuring dad smile' as Marco had so dubbed it.

"Really, Ace. You'll be fine. Everyone's family and your role is to just take care of a family branch. It's not much different to what you've done before. If you really need help Marco and I will always be around to lend you a hand."

Before the voicing of further doubts could be protested by Ace, he was cut off.

"Marco and I what sorry? Thatch, you aren't speaking on my behalf again are you? I thought I told you to stop doing that!"

An indignant Marco huffed at the door, impatiently tapping his foot.

Thatch did this to him all the time: 'Hey, don't worry! Marco will take care of it.' He was sorry for being a kill joy, but 'Marco' didn't always _want_ to take care of it.

Especially some of the random stuff Thatch managed to throw his way.

Like the time when Thatch volunteered him to take Jozu's place to tell Pop's that the ship had run dry of liquor, despite the minor detail that Jozu was made out of, essentially, rock.

ROCK!

It wasn't like just because he was First Division Commander he got off easy from Pop's scary lack-of-alcohol induced state.

He shuddered to think what Red-Haired Shanks would be like if the rumours were true about him loving the drink more than Pop's did.

"Oh, hey Marco. Hot head was just _sweating_ over becoming commander, no biggie."

Marco sceptically stared at Thatch's attempt at a joke before turning his attention towards Ace.

"Yeah, that was a good job you did on Ranka back then. She'd been a thorn in Pop's side for a while."

Compliments from Marco were not only rare but often backhanded so the sincerity of it had Ace somewhat shocked.

"Thanks Marco."

"No problem, kiddo."

Rounding on Thatch, Marco's smirk grew beyond its normal level.

"But Thatch, Thatchy, Thatchy, Thatchy. What are we going to do with you? You must be losing your touch in your old age. Sonny boy's bounty will be larger than yours soon. Whatcha going to then? You'll be the laughing stock of the Grand Line and beyond."

Marco's blatant teasing quelled Ace's fears dramatically. He could do this; dad thought he could, the guys thought he could, and Marco (whilst possibly only to tease Thatch) thought he could too.

If the family said he was good enough then he had no doubts.

He WOULD be good enough.


	17. Monster Mayhem

Food, food, food, fluffy, fluffy, fluffy, food, food, food, fluffy, fluffy, fluffy_._

The decision was becoming increasingly difficult for the speedster as she jog gently beside Sanji as they both 'chased' after what Luffy could only describes as the most awesomest-fluffiest-cutest-most adorable-and edible looking monster she'd ever seen.

Not to mention cool.

All monsters were cool.

That's why she loved her crew so much.

Zoro was her sword wielding demon monster, Nami was just downright terrifying with her right hook to rival Garp's, and the little blue nosed racoon dog- that could change so it wasn't so little anymore- was just what she wanted.

Now all that was undecided was if she wanted another nakama or lunch more.

Skidding to a halt, almost landing on top of her frustrated love chef, Luffy cocked her head gazing at Sanji.

"Where'd it go?"

"I don't know. Why did you just snatch it anyways? Then I could have cooked a delicious venison stew."

Rubbing the back of her neck, she let her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug.

"Wasn't really watching."

Sanji grasped at the bridge of his nose before pulling out a cigarette to calm his nerves.

He could still not believe that any single woman could be so obtuse.

At the Baratie he thought it may have been an act, especially after the managed to kick the weirdo's butt.

Unfortunately he had been sorely mistaken.

She was definitely no helpless maiden.

He couldn't remember a time when he'd smoked so much in all of his life, but since joining the crew it seemed the only thing that could settle him down.

Luffy bounced on her toes as she searched the spiral staircase with her eyes before coming up with nothing.

"Oh well. I'll just keep looking."

Racing off and leaving Sanji behind with an extinguished match and one unlit cigarette he wondered if he should try cigars.

Something a little bit stronger.

_Maybe not_, he decided, _they'd cramp my style_.

* * *

><p>"Found you!"<p>

"Eeep!"

Clinging to the doorframe and shaking violently, Chopper stared at Luffy, watching for any sign that she would move.

Contrary to his belief Luffy plopped to the ground and stuck her hand out.

"Here, little raccoon dog, I'm not going to hurt you."

The cooing voice was not appreciated and neither was the title of 'raccoon dog'.

"I'm a reindeer you bastard! See I have antlers!"

Shoulders heaving heavily, Chopper now stood in the centre of the doorway, his anger outweighing his fear.

Luffy stared at him vacantly.

...

...

...

"You can talk?"

Startled by the outburst Chopper resumed his position of a reversed hide-and-peak.

"Yeah, so what?"

Luffy's eyes twinkled with excitement, not only was he the awesomest-fluffiest-cutest-most adorable monster ever, but he TALKED.

"You HAVE to join my crew."

"NOT A CHANCE YOU STUPID HUMAN!"

Slamming the door shut Chopper ran has he heard her echo tremor through the hall.

_Not good, not good, not good_.

Why on earth was she so fast? And where on earth could he hide?

* * *

><p>-Later on board the <em>Going Merry<em>-

"That's great Chopper, you can talk to animals as well as your medical abilities."

Nami's gentle smile, in an attempt to reassure the little reindeer was overpowered by the multiple screeches of "WHAT!"

"Why did you think I asked him to join?"

Raising an eyebrow, Nami couldn't help but shake her head.

Morons.

The lot of them.

Vivi was the only sane one on board, and the likelihood of her staying with the crew after they reached Alabaster was slim.

Sanji was the first to answer.

"Reserve food supply."

Shrieking in fear Chopper backed away from the still smoking chef.

Luffy was quick to respond after, scooping Chopper up into her arms and nestling her head into his soft fur.

"Seven-level transformation. Fluffy."

Chopper had gone stiff in shock as the rest of the crew stared slightly flabbergasted.

The first reply had been understandable in comparison to Luffy's normal logic, but **fluffy**?

Zoro, the only one who had been around for long enough, recovered the fastest.

"Ah, Luffy, what do ya mean fluffy?"

Loosening her choke hold on the suffocating reindeer Luffy's eyes widened faintly in surprise.

"He's soft and fluffy like a puppy!"

...

...

"My dad wouldn't let me have a puppy when I was little."

Luffy pouted at the memory of Thatch's only successful 'no'.

Chopper however was not impressed.

"I'M NOT A DOG YOU STUPID HUMAN"


	18. Like Brother Like Sister

Read and Review

* * *

><p>Where could that little brat be?<p>

There was no way she would have missed this place. It was the largest restaurant in miles and most definitely a place she would have come to.

Girl had a one-track mind.

Although considering all of the things that she could be interested in, at least with food her emotional state wasn't something he had to concern himself with.

Although...nah...

Shrugging his shoulders he dug back into the food in front of him.

She'd turn up eventually. He just hoped she would before he had to move on with his other search.

His eyes visibly darkened causing many of the patrons to shift further away.

He'd already come back from the 'dead' twice. No one was stupid enough to get involved with someone like that.

The doors slammed shut as a condescending voice pierced the surrounding air.

"My, my, my, you've got guts eating out in the open like this Fire-fist. Now what sorta business does a guy like you, have out here?"

Swivelling on his seat to meet the harsh gaze of the man, Ace shifted his arms back to lean on the counter.

Cocking his eyebrow up to match his grin he answered in a voice equally patronizing.

"I'm searching for my little sister. Perhaps you've seen her?"

"Like I'd help pirate scum!" growling slightly Smoker snapped out of it and attempted to regain his composure, "I didn't come here to deal with you."

"So let me go."

"I can't do that either."

Marines, Ace thought shaking his head, never know what they want.

A slight tapping sound rang through the room as Smoker let his jutte fall to the floor before swinging it back up to rest on his shoulder.

From there Ace couldn't really tell you what happened as he was sent blasting through the restaurants wall with the also confused Smoker.

* * *

><p>"Food, food, food! Hey Mister, food please! Lots and lots! I'm starving!"<p>

The girl sat in front of him bouncing up and down like nothing he'd ever seen before.

Did she not realise what she had just done?

"Ahh...sure."

Setting down a multitude of plates that were originally meant for other customers he stared at her in a state of shock.

He watched her inhale the food for a moment before truly realising how much danger this young woman was in.

"Miss?"

"More food."

Putting down another round of plates piled high with food he tried again.

"Miss? You really should leave."

"Mmm?"

Pausing the use of her left hand, she absently brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, thinking how it was in needed shortening, then resumed her double handed eating style.

"Miss, do you have any idea who you just sent sailing?"

"OH CRAP!"

Jumping to her feat with her eyes wide, the woman turned to look out the front door.

"I FORGOT EVERYONE!"

Now full, the woman dashed out to the street before he even had time to call 'stop'.

* * *

><p>"Lu-"<p>

Ace sighed as Luffy moved way out of hearing range, well the only way he'd ever catch up was if he left now.

Sprinting out into the crowds of people Ace began a more serious 'hunt' for his favourite- and of course- only sister.

Back at the restaurant the man stood there with his mouth agape, managing only to mutter,

"Eat-n-run."


	19. Lost and Found

Luffy tilted her head to the left as she scoured her surroundings.

Having left the restaurant she had managed to find and re-lose her crew in a matter of minutes.

"Where did everybody go?"

Shrugging her shoulders Luffy grabbed up a stick poking suspiciously out a bush and dragged it alongside her as she slowly meandered her way around the back streets.

She wasn't particularly worried.

Everyone could take care of themselves providing Mr. Smokey didn't turn up, but considering she and crew had separated at some point he would have mostly likely _tried_ to follow her.

Watching the small trail that was forming in the dirt as a result of her stick, Luffy smacked head first into what felt like a brick wall, causing her to fall to her backside, twig forgotten in the dirt.

"Oww..."

Body encompassed by shadow, Luffy raised her hand to block the streaming sun that was glaring down around the figure and into her eyes.

"Jeez. You don't even look like you're trying to outrun the marines."

Her eyebrows pinched into a puzzled 'V' and Luffy paused for a moment before a grin spread across her face.

Not bothering to respond to his comment, she threw her arms around him in one of her legendary death grips.

"ACE!"

...

...

"Can't...Breathe..."

Luffy's eyes widened as she quickly released her grasp and jumped back from her winded brother, desperately attempting to get more oxygen into his lungs.

After a few deep breaths, Ace stood up, a teasing grin on his face as he stepped forward to embrace his little sister again.

"It's been a long time, but you never change Luffy."

Breaking the hug for a second time, Luffy's response caused Ace to blink vacantly at her.

"It's been three years, five months, two days and twenty-two hours."

Really?

Luffy. His little sister. The girl that hated doing anything even remotely to do with maths or addition or thinking in general, knew exactly how long ago since they had been together.

Not possible.

It had to be made up. The three years sounded about accurate but the rest?

Finding his voice Ace lifted a single eyebrow. There was only one way she could have done it...

"You've been keeping track all this time?"

"Not really. When you left though, I used to get bored so Dadan always told me to work out how long it had been since you left and I guess I just kept doing it whenever there's nothing to do."

Ace could do nothing as he felt his jaw go slack.

His Luffy – the pocket-rocket trouble maker – had turned to maths...MATHS... to stave of boredom.

Of all things...

He probably shouldn't have been surprised. This was the girl that had tried to learn sewing from Makino and had ended up sewing the arm holes in his shirts close. The operative word in the equation was most definitely 'tried'.

Not to mention the time she tried to learn braiding, whittling, archery... that one had been dangerous. In fact he was sure he had seen the scar, still a slightly different shade of skin colour on Thatch's arm from that particular adventure.

"You really haven't changed a bit."

Clasping their left hands together Luffy responded in kind.

"Neither have you. Except you've finally learnt how to make fire."

"Hey! I don't just 'make fire' I control it. Unlike you, Miss I-started-a-forest-fire-from-running-on-the-spot-for-too-long."

Rubbing the back of her head, Luffy just smiled ruefully. "It was an accident."

Ace just shook his head – only Luffy.

"Well, come on. We should probably get you back to your crew. They're probably worried 'bout you."

Walking side by side Ace pulled out his canteen of water and took a sip before passing it to Luffy.

After half of it was guzzled down, Ace managed to somehow retrieve what was left of his precious water out of Luffy's hands.

Pouting at her brother, she huffed as he didn't give in to her 'puppy-dog' look.

Snapping out of it Luffy decided to restart their conversation.

"So... why are you here anyway?"

Ace's eyes darkened again at the thought of his 'mission'.

Not feeling up to telling Luffy that dad was-

He focused on channelling her interest elsewhere.

"I have minor business here. That's all."

Not settling for his cryptic answer, Luffy pried for more details.

"What type of minor business?"

Instead of answering her directly, Ace faced away from Luffy walking sideways as he revealed his massive tattoo.

"I'm part of the Whitebeard pirates now. This is my pride and joy."

They paused at the intersection they reached as Luffy carefully examined the monster tattoo on his back.

Finding no particular reason as to why it would be his 'pride and joy'. Luffy chose another path that looked like it was heading to the ocean before commenting.

"Really? It looks to me as if nii-san just wanted to walk around all day with his shirt off."

"Eeehhhhhh! I DO NOT!"

"Do too"

"DO NOT!"

"Whatever you say nii-san."

Looking at his familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, she smirked as an old plan reformed in her mind...that orange hat stood no chance...


	20. Poor Shishi

"Aaaaaaaace!"

Luffy jutted her bottom lip out in her infamous 'puppy-dog-pout', her right hand rubbing vigorously up and down her left bicep.

Maybe stealing the hat and running off with it was not such a great idea.

She hadn't been going _that_ fast, and it wasn't as if she had been waving it around letting it catch on crates or brick walls...so it nicked the wall once!

_Oh well._

At least it wasn't her head like last time.

Rolling his eyes at her antics, Ace couldn't believe she was being so dramatic. He had barely tapped her. Not to mention if he'd stolen her hat he knew for certain that he would have been issued multiple bruises and quite possibly a bleeding lip– it had happened before.

Never again.

Hat = precious.

Her precious = no touchy ever.

...unless given explicit permission or it was in danger...in which case it was recover the hat at all costs.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Ace took in his surroundings, realising that in their game of 'pirate-and-marine' they'd managed to end up deeper within the back streets.

"Cm'on Luffy, let's find your crew."

Guiding her down a different street and then another Ace successfully managed to get Luffy to 'U' turn so they were heading towards the water.

"Where's your ship docked?"

While he wasn't expecting a name of anywhere, a general description would be enough to get them where they needed to be.

"You know, I haven't the slightest idea."

Ace's step faltered slightly as he looked over to Luffy.

Nothing had changed.

It was like that one time Luffy had taken Shank's hat off, left it somewhere then couldn't remember where that 'somewhere' was.

The only difference was that he had both Sabo and Thatch to help him hunt down the hat. Not to mention Luffy had been in tears.

At least she'd grown out of that slightly awkward to deal with habit.

Three guys with one blubbering, nonsensical and distraught seven year old girl was an experience he never ever, ever, ever, EVER, wanted to repeat again.

EVER.

E-V-E-R.

"Cm'on Luffy. You're the Captain. You're supposed to take note of where you dock."

Her cheeky laugh was all he got in response.

_Oh Luffy. How do you survive without us? _

Exhaling deeply, Ace couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever Luffy had managed to ensnare as part of her crew.

Although, anyone who could keep up with Luffy could hardly be considered 'normal'.

From what he'd seen, albeit very briefly, he was pretty sure at least one wasn't human.

"What are your nakama like? What kind of people are they?"

Luffy's smile grew as she held up her hands in front of her counting them off.

"The world's future greatest swordsman; my navigator likes money and gold, but mostly gold so that she can get money– she also likes mandarins; a cook who makes the best-est food in the world; a liar and a reindeer who's super cute and fluffy!"

Luffy wrapped her arms around herself swing her upper body side to side as she thought of Chopper and his ultimate furry coat.

Ace just smirked as he watched Luffy. Well she had always wanted a puppy, but after proving incapable of taking care of a fish –poor Shishi – Thatch had denied any other pets of any form.

"Sounds like an interesting mix you've got going on."

"Oh! We also have a Princess and a duck with us for the moment. My crew's the best ever."

So not including the Princess and the duck, she had a grand total of five permanents. Not bad, but so like her to have a small crew. All of them quite probably handpicked.

"If you don't want the girl hurt, stop right there, Fire Fist!"

Luffy halted as she felt a cold metal brush against her skin.

Ace paused as he looked to the man in front of them.

_Who the hell is this guy?_

Angling his head slightly Ace narrowed his eyes as he took in the sight behind him, a growling sound emitting from his chest.

Pressed firmly into Luffy was a gun.

Luffy lifted a single eyebrow as she tilted her head towards Ace.

Growling?

Really?

How old was he again?

Well, whatever. It _was_ Ace, and everyone knew he could be a little strange sometimes.

Ace returned his gaze to the man at least acting as the group's ring-leader of sorts.

_This guy is seriously asking for a beating._

Luffy twitched slightly growing bored of the staring contest Ace was having with the big fat guy attempting to block their path.

Patience had never been her strong suit as she took a single step forward.

BANG.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm really sorry to do this to you all but I have assignments over the next three weeks so the next chapter will probably be up in 3-4 weeks. I'm really sorry!<strong>


	21. Competition

"If you don't want the girl hurt, stop right there, Fire Fist!"

Patience had never been her strong suit as she took a single step forward.

BANG.

...

...

...

...

...

"So let's go find my ship."

Ace shook his head slightly as he watched Luffy walking backwards, her head inclined to the direction she wanted to go.

Side stepping the 'leader' Ace made his way to her side, the anger slipping off his shoulders.

_Well, that was stupid... of course she wasn't in danger_.

The sizeable crowd stood motionless as the last thirty seconds processed in their minds.

"Hey you two! Hold it right there!"

"Boss! That ain't just some girl! It's Straw Hat Luffy!"

Most of the Billions paused for a second time. Finally understanding what they had been trying to process earlier.

"Well then, if it isn't our lucky day. The Boss will be promoting us for sure, boys."

Luffy's eyebrows quirked slightly as she took in the hoard of cheering men.

Guys.

So weird.

Her family and nakama were the only exceptions...although she did sometimes wonder about Sanji and his not so normal tendencies of heart shaped eyes and pirouette-y things.

Grabbing Ace's wrist slightly Luffy began tugging him along ignoring the bunch of Luffy-proclaimed weirdos.

Ace followed beside her, picking up their conversation as if they hadn't just been attacked.

"So we'll try the beach?"

"M'kay."

"HEY! YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE FOOLS OUT OF US! KILL 'EM"

Luffy's eyes widened minutely as she twisted sideways to avoid one of the sword-wielding pirates.

After being pushed back a few steps, Luffy shifted her right foot using its new position to spring backwards, her foot slamming into the advancing billions' face.

More continued to attack as Luffy ducked and weaved letting the uncontrolled men run into each other like angry bulls.

Meanwhile Ace had taken an offensive stance, precisely swiping the legs out from under those unfortunate enough to have thought they could beat a Whitebeard Pirate.

The majority of Billions mistakenly expecting Luffy to be the easier target, closed in around her. Swords held high, they swarmed in forcing Luffy into a crouched position.

Energy flowing within her legs, Luffy pushed rapidly through the circle bowling men into the sky before they had time to register what was happening.

Thuds filled the air as men rained to the ground with limbs twitching wildly from the impact.

The groups' leader was also twitching. His face distorted by his squinting eyes and scrunched nose. Feelings of humiliation overcoming any level of rational thought he may have held prior forced the leader to charge at the unsuspecting Luffy.

Slicing madly at Luffy, she could only shift out of the way hurriedly to avoid being cut.

As the next swing came Luffy's footing slipped as she stumbled on a lose rock.

Following the momentum of her slip Luffy continued to fall, stretching her hand out at the last minute to flip herself sideways.

Having landed on her feet, Luffy skidded to a stop as she watched Ace catch the blade between his fingers.

"Show off." She muttered lowly.

Clearly not low enough as Ace shot a smug smirk in her direction.

Taking it as a direct challenge, Luffy ploughed forward and slammed her fists into the leader's exposed chest.

Ace's smirk shifted into a smile as he watched the guy sail from sight.

He knew Luffy was more than capable of taking care of herself, but he couldn't help but be over-protective when she was around.

She was his only sister.

Not to mention she had the strangest ability to attract trouble from miles around.

Fixing her hat Luffy walked next to Ace only to sprint ahead as she saw the ocean.

"We made it!"

Ace leant against the stone wall as he caught up, subtly trying to regain his breath.

"Can you see your boat?"

"Yep there it is!" She whooped and scampered off.

Ace's focus however was latched to the sound of heavy footfalls heading their way.

"Luffy you go on ahead. I'll take– She ain't listening..."

A sweat drop appeared as Ace noticed that she was not only, not listening but was already laughing onboard her ship.

Realising the rather large body of sea water separating himself and Luffy, his eyebrows creased together.

"How did she–"

_Never mind_.

Sometimes it was just easier not to question the oddity that made up his sister.

Making quick work of the remaining idiots Ace looked to the sun. He had spent longer in Alabaster than he had intended.

He had to leave.

Blackbeard was out there somewhere and Ace WOULD find him.

Even, if it was the last thing he did.


	22. Piece of Paper

"You think it's okay to leave your brother behind? What about all those Billions?"

Vivi paced nervously across the ship, hating to think that another person could be hurt as a result of Baroque Works.

"Don't worry Vivi. Ace can take care of himself. He's one of the strongest people I know!"

Luffy's relaxed position, her arms resting on the railing, did nothing to suggest anything but her complete faith in her brother's abilities.

"Is he really that strong?"

Luffy smiled widely as she looked to Chopper.

_So cute!_

"Uh-huh. Ace use to beat me all the time! Even without his Mera-mera ability."

* * *

><p>Luffy blocked another swing from Ace's pipe with her own, twisting it harshly in an attempt to fling Ace's from his hands.<p>

Ace's grip was too strong and the move merely locked the two together in a circular dance as their feet crossed one behind the other.

Thatch and Sabo stood patiently to the side, watching as the two children practised.

They made few comments, with Thatch only commenting when an opening was missed, or if either one wasn't moving their feet enough.

"Luffy! Move those feet of yours! You'd have the advantage if you'd just move your feet."

"Yeah, c'mon Luffy. How're you gonna be Pirate King if you can't even beat me?"

Snarling at Ace's jibe Luffy jumped back against a nearby tree only to lunge forward to tackle him around the waist, leaving behind a splintered pile of wood.

Prepared for such an attack Ace had shifted his left foot back catching most of Luffy's weight successfully until one of her feet wrapped around his ankle tripping him to the ground.

Luffy's triumphant smile was short lived as Ace tipped her over into the dirt sitting on her chest, his pole pointed at her neck.

"Uncle?"

"No."

Squirming in an attempt to replicate Ace's move Luffy sighed as she realised Ace wasn't going to budge.

Pouted lips and puppy-dog eyes were her final chance of throwing Ace's resolve but it failed to make him budge even a millimetre.

"Uncle?"

"I hate you."

"Come on Luffy, just admit it: I'm better. Now say it."

Mustering the strongest glare she could Luffy huffed indignantly,

"Fine. Uncle."

Thatch laughed boisterously at their display. Luffy's determination never ceased to amaze him.

It didn't seem to matter to her that she was three years younger and still had time to catch up to Ace's level, everything was about the now with her.

"Don't worry about it Lu, there's always next time." Sabo comforted.

"You said that last time."

A disgruntled Luffy was never a fun thing.

"Well precious, what do you say about getting some lunch instead?"

"Food! Let's go! Let's go! LET'S GO!"

This time there was nothing Ace could do to stop himself from being flung out of his sister's way.

* * *

><p>Luffy paused momentarily as the memory flittered from her brain.<p>

"Though, I could totally kick his arse now."

"Whose arse can you kick exactly?"

Ace balanced precariously on the boats edge, his eyebrow raised as he took in his sister's form sprawled on the deck.

"Hehehe Ace! You made it!" Luffy laughed, sitting up.

"Yep– Hey Luffy I meant to ask earlier, you wanna join the Whitebeard Pirates? With your crew of course."

"Nope."

"Hahaha...well I figured I'd ask. This is your crew huh? Thank you for taking care of my sister, I know she can be a handful sometimes."

As Ace bowed the others hastily copied the gesture. All of them were completely thrown at the possibility that Luffy and this polite man could be in any way related.

The idea that perhaps, the two grew up separately did not stray far from most of their minds.

"Do you want to come in Ace-san? I can make some tea if you're thirsty?"

Ace politely refuse Sanji's offer with a shake of his head.

"No, I'm going soon. I only dropped by to give these to Luffy."

Throwing something towards Luffy, she responded automatically, reaching out to catch it gently in her hands.

"Here."

She stared at it in confusion, flipping it over to examine the blank surface.

"It's a piece of paper."

"Yep, and it will let us meet up again sometime in the future."

Luffy's less than enthusiastic response prompted Ace on.

"You don't want it?"

Clasping her hands around it more firmly, Luffy brought the piece of paper to her chest.

"No, I want it."

Ace merely laughed at his her childish actions. Shifting his hat lower over his face, Ace's tone changed from teasing to bashful.

"Having a dumb little sister makes an older brother worry. I want you to take this as well. I'm sure at least one of your crew can teach you to use it."

With that Ace detached his dagger from his belt pointing it directly at Luffy in its sheath, before letting it swing around to offer the hilt.

Luffy grasped the handle loosely then let go, her hand falling to her side.

Ace chose not to comment, instead thrust it out to her again.

She curled her hand around the curved handle for a second time. This time she didn't release her grip.

Ace let go smiling as Luffy examined his dagger.

Her eyes flickered up to gaze questioningly at Ace.

"You want me to take your dagger? Are you sure? I think you should keep it."

"Nah, it's cool. You keep it. I never really use it."

Choosing not to question Ace further, Luffy tucked the dagger into her pocket realising she'd have to find a better way to attach her new weapon later.

"THERE THEY ARE! IT'S FIRE FIST AND STRAW HAT; LET'S GET 'EM!"

Vivi squeaked in fear as she took in the advancing fleets of Billions.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of them. I have to leave now anyway."

"You have to go already?" Luffy whined.

She had hoped he would stay long enough for her to hear about his no doubt crazy adventures.

"Yeah. I told you. I was only here on business. I was looking for a man that calls himself 'Blackbeard' but my lead was a dead end."

"What did he do?" Nami queried.

"He attacked family and as his commander it's my job to hunt him down."

Jumping off the boat Ace fired up his raft (very literally) and sped off, blowing the Billions ships out of the water.

Whilst the crew stood dumbfounded at the extent of his mera-mera power, Luffy couldn't help but ponder his last words, lines of concentration forming along her face.

_He attacked family._

Luffy considered her crew as her family, but the way he said it...

_Nah...I'm just thirsty...now where's that water barrel?_

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, I'm sorry that my updates haven't been very regular lately I've hit a mix of writers block and a hectic school schedule which has made it difficult to get this out to you. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll try my best to get back on track :)<strong>


	23. Fighter

Luffy swayed lightly as she stared up into the blue sky clearly visible through the shattered rock ceiling. Her shoulders rose and fell harshly before she collapsed onto her back, a huge smile across her face.

_Kick Crocodile's arse...check._

King Nefertari's eyes were wide in disbelief, still in shock over the young woman's immense strength.

_It's finally over._

"Thank you."

He managed to choke out his head slumping to his chest.

"Thank you."

"Hehehe, no problem."

Luffy's toothy smile dropped slightly as her world turned black– Crocodile's poison and her own utter exhaustion finally overruling her desire to keep going.

* * *

><p>Confusion reigned as Luffy's face as she examined her surroundings.<p>

Huge segments of rocks and stone pillars crashing down everywhere. They had to leave.

Survival instincts in overdrive, Luffy paid no attention to the conversation going on around her, scooping up the strange woman over her shoulder whilst heaving the man over her other shoulder.

"WAIT! What are you doing? Leave me here! I–"

The woman's pleas were cut off by Luffy.

"Why the hell should I do what you say?"

With that she decided the best way out was definitely up.

Springing from falling piece to falling piece she clumsily headed towards the hole, cursing at the poor grip her blood-covered feet were offering her.

Finally she made it to the top with a 'THUD'.

Landed hazardously close to the edge, Luffy crumpled forward as she released her human cargo.

This time no antidote could wake her from sleep.

* * *

><p>"Aaaaahhhhh. Best nap!"<p>

Everyone– minus Zoro– was gathered around Luffy's bed, laughing at their Captain's obliviousness as to what had happened and what she had done.

Rubbing her hands up her face and into her hair, Luffy's relaxed attitude shifted immediately in concern for her hat.

"HAT! I've lost my hat! I'm hungry...HAT FOOD HAT FOOD HAT FOOD."

The continuous switch between words became blurred to the crew as they shook their heads in amazement.

Only Luffy.

"Oi! Luffy calm down!" Jeez, you're so loud when you wake up."

_Food + waking up =_

"BREAKFAST!"

Sanji just shook his head again.

"You missed breakfast. It's already in the evening."

Luffy's pout was replaced with her normal smile at Usopp's interjection.

"Your hat is fine. It's right there."

Following his hand to the bedside table, Luffy was quick to restore it to its rightful position.

The door cracked open as Zoro walked in attracting a distressed Chopper to his side.

"I told you no training! Where are your bandages!?"

Luffy's laughter was stopped short as her head tilted in confusion. Why did everything feel so long ago? And why did she feel so hungry?

Picking up on what she _thought_ Luffy was thinking Nami, talking over the top of the squabbling doctor-patient pair, filled her in.

"You've been out for three days–"

"THREE DAYS? THAT'S 15 MEALS!"

Usopp raised his eyebrows at Luffy's instant calculations.

"Ahh...Luffy you counted for five meals a...wait...never mind."

He released a heavy breath; he was wasting everyone's time if he tried to argue against Luffy and her monster eating habits.

The doors opened a second time drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Filling almost the entire double frame was a curly blonde haired, pink cardigan wearing, orange shade lipstick...

"IGARAM! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Zoro's mutterings of "he really is into this creepy shit," floated across the room, where Vivi chuckled awkwardly, her hand running down the back of her head.

"Everyone this is Terracotta, she's Igaram's wife. I asked her to bring some food down when Luffy woke up."

Her explanation did little to placate the highly disturbed Zoro. However it did manage to excite Luffy with the prospect of food.

"Hahahaha, aren't you all delightful. I'm afraid dinner's another thirty minutes away. Hopefully this fruit will tie you over until then?"

"Okay."

The large trolley that had been left beside Luffy's bed mounded with fruit then disappeared peel, seeds and all.

Stunned and gobsmacked, of the crew only Sanji and Zoro managed to screech, "WHAT?!", whilst Terracotta and Vivi shared in a hysterical bout of laughter.

"My, my. A challenge! Bring your biggest appetite, I've been a chef for thirty years and I've never been beaten, so eat as much as you can!"

With a pointed finger of determination Terracotta marched away, quiet probably back to the kitchen, the door swinging behind her.

Falling back against the bed, her wide grin spread across her face,

"Food!"

* * *

><p><strong>Again I'm so sorry for the length between posts I'm trying my best. Please Review :)<strong>


	24. Of Edamame and Apples

"Oh, lighten up Zoro! I told you she's not that bad!"

Zoro's forehead pulsed as he rolled his shoulders, popping them loudly. Why was he trying to argue this again?

"I'm not sayin' she is. I just don't think she's given a lot of reason to trust-"

"Zoro, you're wasting your time. She's tuned out." Nami sighed as she watched her captain.

A sweat drop formed at the back of his head. Of course she wasn't listening. When did she ever?

He was impressed that Nami had managed to get her to concentrate long enough to understand that she wasn't allowed to start a fight and actually managed to get Luffy to repeat it back to her.

Something about if you want to get to the sky, no fighting. He'd unfortunately been forced to agree to the stupid idea too.

All he had to do was look around to see that they weren't gonna get thrown off even if they did start a fight, but like Luffy, sometime it was just easy not to argue with Nami.

The trio's path suddenly became blocked as a guy fell face first off his horse and onto the ground. They paused as they watched the man lie there, clearly not motivated enough to pick himself off the ground.

After a series of hacking coughs the man looked up to them imploringly,

"Ah-hum. I fell off. Could you give me a hand?"

Nami and Zoro made eye contact over Luffy's head as she continued to stare vacantly down at the man.

Bumping her shoulder gently Zoro egged her forward.

"C'mon Luffy, I'll get this side."

Throwing the man back onto his horse Luffy continued to stare at the man as he readjusted his position on his steed.

Her gaze was broken when the horse slumped forward resting only inches from where its master had laid only seconds before.

This time neither Luffy nor Zoro made a move to help with Nami watching on with an unamused expression.

"Here."

Thrusting out a basket of apples, the man half-heartedly apologised.

"Take one. To make up for being a nuisance."

"You got that right."

Nami muttered under her breath, despite having done absolutely none of the work.

Zoro eyed the apples suspiciously. It kind of reminded him of a fairy-tale he'd heard way back, something about evil step-mothers and a piece of poisoned fruit...

His musings where cut short as he watched Luffy snatch one from the top of the pile and take a bite before he had time to say 'no'.

BANG!

A blast echoed around the streets stemming from a building back two blocks.

"Luffy! Spit it out! Spit it out!"

Nami shook Luffy's shoulder's desperately hoping to entice the piece of fruit back up the girls' throat.

Luffy lifted her free hand to grip Nami's right wrist, gently pulling it off.

"Why? It's a good apple."

Nami and Zoro looked at each other horrified as Zoro reached for his sword, a snarl ripping across his face.

"It'll explode Luffy!"

"No it won't."

"_No it won't."_

The man and Luffy locked eyes as the finished their mirrored statement. Still unsure, but less wary Zoro re-sheathed his blade trusting Luffy to know if her food was poisoned or not.

"You're one lucky woman." The horse man cackled as he and his horse limped down a side street.

Luffy watched him disappear as she scratched the back of her head in confusion.

"How am I lucky?"

Nami huffed in exasperation.

"You could have died Luffy! Exploded into a million pieces! Decimated! Destroyed! Dead like a dodo!"

"What's a dodo?"

"It used to be a bird. Luffy I don't understand. That apple. How did you know it wouldn't explode?"

Luffy tossed the apple into the air before catching it in her opposite hand and taking a bite.

"Huh? Dad taught me. It took me a pretty long time to learn how to do too, but I got it eventually."

* * *

><p>"DAAAADDD! I'm hungry! Food!"<p>

Not even surprised that he was hearing his least favourite six and four- letter words only an hour after having lunch, Thatch ignored Luffy and continued to spar with Sabo.

"DAAAADDDYYYY!"

Thatch winced as Sabo and Ace chuckled, '_Pulling out the trump card already Luffy'_.

It had not been long after their family arrangement had been implemented that Luffy had discovered a weakness in Thatch- he was completely unable to come to terms with 'daddy'.

'Dad' was fine, but as soon as Luffy cried 'daddy' she received an immediate reaction, something that delighted both Luffy and her brothers to no end, despite being for different reasons.

Catching another of Sabo's fists in his hand, Thatch turned to his bag, thinking what he had in there as Sabo continued to struggle out of his grip.

A spark lit up in Thatch's eye, one which made Ace wary, concerned that it was too much like when he himself had something planed.

"Sure Luffy. In my bag there should be a piece of fruit that you can have until we've finished here."

Thatch returned his focus to a frustrated Sabo as he kept Luffy's diving form in his periphery.

"Oi! Luffy, wait a minute that's-"

Ace's words of warning came too late as the speedster promptly slunk to the floor, dead asleep. His attention was then diverted onto Thatch.

"Oi! Don't you know what that is it's-"

"-the infamous green and blue stripped edamame that makes people sleepy?"

Thatch just smirked as Sabo shook his head and attempted to catch Thatch off guard.

"If she wants to eat all the time she's going to need to learn what is and isn't okay for her. Besides, by the time she wakes up it will actually be time to have food."

Ace stared at Thatch a little longer before settling back into his nook in the tree. When he thought about it, it was actually rather ingenious. He was just angry that he'd never thought of it himself.

* * *

><p>Nami just shook her head in disbelief.<p>

"Your family is insane. How many times did something like that happen?"

"Huh. I never really thought about it. Mmm. A month? Two maybe? I don't know. I knew that it was happening but it was hard to work out what was and wasn't edible."

Nami just shook her head again as they entered the local bar hoping that this place would give them the information they needed to get to Skypeia.

**Hi guys, sorry that the chapters are coming out all over the place but my head's still not in the right mindset and I've been crazy busy with school:( I hope you enjoyed the chapter though :)**


	25. Like Lightning

"LUFFY!"

Luffy's shoulders continued to heave as she ignored Nami's cry.

The man above her stood smirking and proud as his body sparked and cackled.

He had hurt her crew.

Her nakama.

But she would not allow him to take Nami away. If he wanted a navigator he had to go find his own! Hers was NOT an option and never would be.

He was fast. Faster than any she'd ever fought before. Lightning. But he was not God.

"Respect me you worthless mortal for I am God!"

Luffy's shoulders began to shake harder than they had been before, no longer out of need but of anger. Her fists clenched by her sides as her eyebrows drew in tight.

Ignoring his continuing speech about his Godliness, Luffy dashed towards the mammoth ship leaping from the window ledges in what was to Nami, a blink of an eye.

Her speed captured the vague interest of Enel,

"Perhaps you are not as simple a mortal as I originally believed. No matter. You can't beat me. I am God after all."

Enel's bored expression returned as he twisted body to face Luffy head on. Pulling one had back he thrust it forward lazily allowing a blinding stream to encompass Luffy.

"NO!"

Nami couldn't withhold her screech as she lost sight of Luffy. Sinking back to her knees, her hands slowly came to cover her face. There was no way Luffy could survive that. It was over. She had fought God and lost. Nami's eyes fell shut as she desperately tried to keep the tears from falling.

_I am so sorry Luffy_.

The corners of Enel's mouth twitched in victory as he examined the deep crater he had formed in the side of the rock wall. His mouth returned to its stoic position as he took in the scene in front of him.

Luffy, still standing, with only her clothes hissing from being singed around the edges.

Had she dodged it? No. It wasn't possible he would have sensed it.

_No matter_.

Twisting his staff in his left hand absently, Enel released another shock of lightning, this time stronger than before.

As the second flash invaded past Nami's eyelids, she raised her head. Luffy was dead why did he–

* * *

><p>Aisa's mouth dropped open as she stared at the black haired woman who she had slowly grown to respect.<p>

Her mantra had to be broken, for all that was coming from Luffy was anger and annoyance. There was no pain and yet she could still _feel_ the older woman.

This just wasn't possible.

* * *

><p>Luffy's nose twitched as she waited impatiently for 'God' to finish being weird. What did he think he was going to achieve by screaming different voltage levels at her? Was he expecting her to respond with something?<p>

"YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!"

"Ngh."

Enel's jaw dropped to the floor whilst his eyes bulged out of their sockets. He had attacked her three times, each seeming to have had little to no effect at all.

Suddenly Luffy charged towards Enel, her fist connecting with his chest sending him flying into the deck.

He coughed coarsely as blood trickled down the side of his mouth and he strained to lift his upper body with his arm.

Luffy stalked to her new position behind him, watching closely for any threatening movement.

Nami sat dumbfounded. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her Captain's survival could be called nothing short of a miracle.

_Vibrations._

Nami was convinced. That had to be it. She hadn't dodged it, it had to have passed through her.

Her focus was drawn away from her internal musing as Enel and Luffy started exchanging blows of which she could only try to keep a track of.

"I have to do something. What can I do? Think Nami! Think! Dammit Nami why aren't you thinking! Luffy what can we do!"

The fighters paused briefly on opposite sides of the ship, neither one giving any indication of breaking their locked gaze.

"Stop panicking Nami. You're part of the future Pirate King's crew."

With that Luffy tossed her hat into Nami's outstretched hands.

"But–"

Enel cut off the unnecessary chatter between the two women,

"Pirate King? What does he rule?"

Luffy's eyes turned cold as she continued to stare down her opposition.

"The sea. I will be King of the Sea."


	26. Foxy Fun

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthan kyou!"

The words sounded like a prayer as Chopper dove into his Captains open arms.

Luffy smiled softly at the little Reindeer, glad that he was once again part of the Strawhat pirates and not the Foxy pirates, his tears leaking down his face as he continued to grip Luffy.

"C'mon Chopper, stop crying. It's okay. You're back now. Zoro and Sanji were never going to lose."

He sniffled violently as he willed the flow to stop, trying to act as if the past events hadn't fazed him.

A voice rang out announcing that the final round of the Davy Back fight was about to start and continued on to explain the rules of the fight.

Captain Foxy straightened his back determination flowing through his veins.

"You WILL lose this round Strawhat."

"Not a chance."

Foxy slumped to the ground distraught that he had been cut down with such defiance.

"So what are we doing?"

Luffy's question was met with a sharp slap in the upside of her head.

"Oww! Nami! What was that for?"

The navigator sighed as she looked at her captain.

"Listen carefully. Beat Foxy and don't fall off the boat. You got that?"

"Beat Foxy, don't fall off."

Nami sighed again. _Please let her remember._

* * *

><p>"It's about to start. There's Luffy."<p>

Robin's lips quirked upwards as she watched Luffy shift up and down on her toes completely geared up to fight.

"Why is she wearing different clothes?"

Chopper's question was lost under the pirouetting display put on by Sanji.

"Wah~ Captain-chan is so cute in that outfit."

A growl almost slipped out of Zoro as he fought not to rip the cook to shreds.

_Does CAPTAIN mean nothing to him?_

"Sit down you pervert."

"Oi! Who you calling pervert!"

This time Zoro didn't bother withholding the snarl that rippled out of his throat.

* * *

><p><strong>-On board the Foxy Pirate ship-<strong>

"When you're ready...set...FIGHT!"

"NORO NORO BEAM!"

The word 'fight' had barely made it out of the announcer's mouth as Foxy let out his first attack.

Luffy's body steamed as her body vibrated, but as the beam encompassed her, her limbs felt heavy and weighed down.

She tilted her head slightly.

_It should have passed straight through. _

During her musings Foxy had snuck towards her before charging with a primal yell send a fist directly to her jaw.

* * *

><p><strong>-In the stands-<strong>

Nami shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that hit her!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow but his gaze never left Luffy.

"Course it was gonna hit her. She didn't dodge."

Forehead creasing in confusion Nami tried to refute him.

"But- wait. Never mind."

_They weren't there when she fought Enel. They don't know what she can do._

* * *

><p><strong>-Back on board-<strong>

Foxy counted down the final second as time returned to normal and Luffy was blasted towards the edge of the boat.

Her hand snatched out to grasp the boats railing as she flipped herself back onto the deck.

Her head twisted with her body as her eyes searched for the tricky pirate. Locating him standing on a cannon ball Luffy cocked her head.

"Dude that's just weird."

Foxy's head dropped instantly at the unintentional insult Luffy had delivered.

Having made her way over to the balustrade Luffy lifted herself up to sit on it as she waited for him to regain his composure.

BOOM

Luffy's balance was thrown by the proximity of the explosion, falling to the lower deck with a thud.

"Hahaha! How'd you like that Stawhat?"

"Ngh."

Blood trickled down the side of her cheek from where a splinter of wood had sliced along it.

Her hand swiped away the blood revealing no evidence suggesting the cut had ever actually existed.

"You're going to lose."

Luffy frowned at the cocky tone. No one would ever, EVER, take her nakama away from her.

Foxy let lose another beam.

This time she was prepared.

Dodging left Luffy seemingly disappeared only to return milliseconds later poised and ready behind Foxy.

Before he even had time to elevate his arms, Luffy released her drawn back fists sending him flying over the edge of the arena and into the water.

A cheeky grin spread across her face as she threw her arms towards the sky.

A whistle signalled the end to one the fastest ending rounds in the history of the Davy Back Fights.

* * *

><p><strong>-In the stands-<strong>

Nami slumped back in her seat incredibly grateful that Luffy hadn't lost.

Out of the corner of her eye Zoro's knowing smirk caught her attention.

"You cannot tell me you weren't worried at least for a minute."

"Nope" Was his simple reply.

"But-"

"She's speed. The first time she was caught off." Zoro shrugged his shoulders, "If she got caught a second time her would've only been the pace of a normal person anyways."

Nami gaped at Zoro's explanation. She was caught off?

"But how did you-"

A lazy eye looked in her direction effectively silencing her.

"She'll always outpace him. She's his natural nemesis."

"But-"

"Her head did that stupid side tilt."

Nami's mind retraced Luffy's actions. Hit, still, head tilt, still, punched... A sweat drop formed at the back of her head as she mumbled,

"You've got to be kidding."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, sorry for the delay. My final exams for the year are coming up soon so my beta and I are running a pretty tight schedule. I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter will be up as soon as possible!<strong>


	27. Breaking the Ice

**Hey everyone, I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get out to you. However my exams have now finished and updates should come more regularly than the last few months. To make up for lost time, this chapter is a bit longer than my normal ones. I hope you enjoy and make sure to let me know what you think!**

* * *

><p>"Admiral?"<p>

Luffy cocked her head left and then back to the right as she weighed up the man in front of her.

He was tall, but his demeanour suggested a laid back personality like Zoro. Although if he was anything like Zoro...

Then there was Robin's reaction. Luffy had never seen her so fearful of anything. Most things that occurred were met with indifference or (if Luffy had managed to do something considered 'supremely idiotic' by Nami) Robin may give a slight chuckle in amusement.

Admiral.

Tougher then Gramps.

But would he be tougher than Dad?

Gramps had always been the strongest person she'd known until she met Shanks and later Thatch. To her both men were almost of equal skill although she had never really seen the red-haired captain fight.

This was not good.

During her musing Luffy had managed to miss Robin's entire explanation on the Marines' structure and the level of power carried by Aokiji. Her selective hearing kicked back in to hear Aokiji self-defensively claim "Don't judge a book by its cover."

_Don't judge a book by its cover... Don't judge someone by their cover... Don't judge someone based on what they look like..._

Luffy blinked in recognition of where she had heard those words before.

Dad.

* * *

><p>It had been early morning when Ace, Sabo and herself had snuck into town hoping to steal money out of the back pockets of some rich-stuck up nobles. The day's plan had been one of the few that had ever failed them, when instead of picking on a clueless noble they had targeted a strong but well dressed thief.<p>

Whilst none of them got hurt, they had been caught and when their grumblings of the event were overheard by Thatch they were stuck in an hour long lecture on how not to assume anything about anyone.

It was, incredibly, a lesson that had remained with Luffy. Right next to 'don't back down if your loved ones are in danger'.

* * *

><p>Throughout Luffy's musings, her gaze had been locked on Robin whose terrified expression had failed to change in even the minutest detail.<p>

The conversation turned briefly to the old man, desperate to get back to his tribe.

Moving slowly to his feet Aokiji made his way to the water's edge and addressed the old man.

"Get your stuff packed, I'll help you catch up to the others."

"WHAT! NO! Don't listen to him he's a MARINE!"

Luffy's outburst was met with a strange yet contemplative look from the old man before she realised who he was and quickly back tracked on what she said.

"Hehehe, oops! Never mind! It's just that normally the marines are the bad guys. I forget that we're actually the bad ones. Hehehe. You can trust him."

At this Usopp threw his hands comically into the air.

"How could you forget that?!"

Luffy just laughed again before watching to see what the admiral would do. Her eyes widened as the sea froze over creating an icy bridge linking the islands together. His devil fruit was just like Ace's, elemental, powerful, and deadly to be touched by.

She was eventually snapped out of her shock when she realised just cold she was jumping from foot to foot trying to heat up her body whilst she waved good bye to the old man,

"You are just like your grandfather, Miss Monkey."

At this Luffy's grin vanished, her eyes locking onto the admiral. He knew gramps?

_Not good. Not good. Not good._

"Maybe I should take you all out right now."

Luffy shifted her right foot back slightly, ready to spring into action at his first sign of attack. Admiral or not she would not let anyone hurt or take her nakama away from her.

"You are an especially dangerous group now because of you, Nico Robin."

At this Luffy let lose a feral warning growl, not so different to the one she'd reprimanded Ace over back in Alabaster.

Moving at what could only be considered as remarkably slow for Luffy, she discreetly positioned herself between Aokiji and the rest of the Strawhats. Whilst the action was missed by most of the crew a few of the keener eyes watched in understanding.

"She's a danger to the Government. Her bounty reflects that. But if you want more evidence all you have to look at is the fact that every group Nico Robin has ever been a part of has ended up annihilated, leaving her the sole survivor."

Sanji was quick to jump to Robin's defence, out right cursing at the admiral for accusing her of doing anything.

Aokiji's next words sparked Robin into action, with multiple arms sprouting out of his body tightening their hold at, "Clutch."

As shards of ice smashed to the ground, Chopper and Usopp ran manically in circles trying desperately to highlight the severity of the situation.

"THIS IS BAD! VERY, VERY BAD! WHAT DO WE DO?! THIS IS BAD!"

"WE HAVE TO GO! RIGHT NOW! LET'S GO, LET'S GO!"

Their pleas fell on deaf ears as Luffy stood unwavering, watching closely as Aokiji reformed into the same person he had been only moments before.

Zoro was the first to launch into action as a sabre of ice was formed within the admirals grasp.

The clash of ice and steel reverberated in the crews ears.

Not to be out done by his rival, Sanji followed quickly with a well-aimed kick heading towards the admiral's weapon, forcing it out of his hands and into the sky.

It landed shortly after with a 'thunk' as it pierced the grass.

Luffy chose this moment to attack Aokiji, his hands both occupied by Sanji's leg and Zoro's upper arm. From what she could see her punch did nothing, failing to knock even the wind out of her opponent.

Ice started to spread across her arm as well as the limbs of Zoro and Sanji as they all hurried to pull themselves free of his grip. The two men fell onto their backs as Luffy collapsed to her knees, her unfrozen hand nursing the frozen one to her chest. The pain was almost unbearable as she clamped her eyes shut her body starting to vibrate.

In the split second her eyes had closed, Aokiji had leapt at Robin encompassing her completely in ice. Aokiji stepped away from Robin examining her icy form. His investigation didn't last long as he brought his fist back...

Luffy's senses went into overload.

Every fraction of a second.

She could see it all.

And she would not let him destroy _her_ archaeologist.

Moving beyond the sight of her nakama Luffy manage to bring Robin into a horizontal position successfully avoiding the first blow.

"Way too close." Luffy mumbled.

Aokiji's eyebrows rose. Did these people really not see how much danger she would bring them?

Bringing his foot up ready to strike the frozen survivor, he only managed to pin Strawhat to the ground, as Robin was swept up into the arms of the most cowardly member of the crew.

Groaning in pain from having a giant foot crushing her Luffy rolled away and onto her stomach.

"Usopp! You and Chopper take Robin back to the ship! Make sure you fix her!"

"R-R-Roger!"

Usopp managed to gasp out as he took in the angry form of the present admiral. This time Aokiji could not withhold his thoughts on the matter.

"For God's sake! Don't save a woman like her!"

Luffy opened her mouth to reply but was beaten to it by Nami, who blocked Aokiji's open palm with her Clima-Tact.

"Thank you for your suggestion but we rather like having Robin around."

Her smart-ass remark was not taken well by the admiral as he flung her and her staff on the ground a good five metres away.

Zoro and Sanji jumped to their feet ready to defend their weaker nakama, although for different reasons. They were cut short of launching their next attacks by Luffy who was just pushing herself to her feet.

"No. Don't fight him. He's mine."

Zoro and Sanji exchanged worried looks that were worsened at their captain's next words.

"That's an order. We'll settle this one-on-one."

"Fine with me. I warn you now Strawhat this is a fight to the death."

Luffy nodded tersely as the remained of the crew ran back to the ship hoping that both Luffy and Robin would be alright. Aokiji's released a freezing wind of breath, turning the surrounding area into an icy arena. Luffy ignored her instincts to run away and charged towards the towering man, shifting right and ducking left to avoid the thrust of his hand.

Moving low she braced her hands on the ground swinging upwards to deliver a surprise kick to his jaw. She followed him up into the air not realising her mistake until it was too late. From her groundless position she could no longer change direction as the admiral's body ensnared her own in a python grip.

"Ice time."

Luffy gritted her teeth as the tingling pain spread over her entire body the pair landing on the ground with a thud. Letting go of Luffy, Aokiji took a few steps back before sitting on the grass. His eyes contemplatively watched Luffy.

Now he was in a conundrum.

"Did you do this on purpose?"

She, like her grandfather perplexed him with their pattern of thought.

Did she mean to win? Or was she simply trying to protect her crew from certain annihilation, trusting him not to go back on his word of a one-on-one fight.

Pushing himself to his feet, Aokiji brushed the back of his pants out of habit from a time before he had consumed his devil fruit.

_What to do?  
><em>

As much as he hated to think it– and there was no way he would ever say it, but they did owe the Strawhats for what they did in Alabaster. Turning on his heel, he headed to his bike, not once looking back to the pirate he'd left behind.

"Mmmm, I guess I will let you go just this once, Monkey D. Luffy."

He should have looked back.

Luffy watched silently as he left her 'frozen' in place. When he was out of sight she raised her hand to remove the water trailing down her face. Rolling her shoulders she let out a satisfied sound as they popped, her usual grin returning.

Maybe she could defeat the admiral.

Her extreme heat caused by her body's vibration had melted the ice relatively quickly. With a bit of practise she had no doubt she could be strong enough to protect her nakama from him in the future.

Smiling, Luffy skipped her way back to The Going Merry, not at all fazed by the shocked and disbelieving faces that her crew graced her with when she returned.


	28. Through and Through

Luffy had been listening. Really she had, but she wouldn't let the Franky Family or any of the other Galley-La Company workers go in first.

It just wasn't her style.

Her thoughts tumbled around the words Sanji had spoken to her only minutes before.

"Robin won't come willing Luffy. She doesn't want us to come."

In her heart Luffy had known that Sanji was wrong. It may have _appeared_ that Robin didn't want them to come, but deep down Robin didn't want to die.

It didn't matter to Luffy what past her archaeologist had. It didn't matter what past any members of her crew had. All that mattered was that they would continue to stand by her side when she became King of the Pirates.

Luffy smiled at the thought and the grin widened as the Island of 'Justice' came within an accessible launch distance.

She started as far back as she could manage on the _Rocket Man's _figure head, and Luffy launched into a sprint before leaping off the front of the train and into the air.

Clearing the first iron gates, Luffy stumbled slightly as she gripped the edge of the second, more imposing gate to steadying herself.

"Whew! That was close!"

Distantly, she could just make out the aggravated tones of Nami about her inability to stick to the plan. The navigators' words were quickly drowned out by the shouts of the marines that had noticed her presence.

Sidestepping the poorly aimed bullets, Luffy dropped herself over the other side of gate.

She glanced around her surroundings briefly before remembering that Paulie had said straight ahead.

_Straight ahead it is then_.

Charging forwards Luffy weaved in and out of marines, the echoes of 'no unnecessary fighting' bouncing around her mind.

"Please let me through." Luffy called as she made her was to the main islands' front gate.

A chorus of 'NO's' spurred Luffy into the offensive.

If they wouldn't let her pass when she asked nicely it was clearly a fight that could be deemed 'necessary'.

After toying with a few of them, soldiers knocking each other out and the like, Luffy found a break to charge at the next wall.

It was now or never to see if her ability could actually work.

The Marines shared worried glances as they attempted to gauge the crazy pirate who was charging head first into a stone wall.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?"

They weren't kept waiting long as Luffy disappeared from sight.

Echoes of "EHHHH!" sounded in Luffy's ears as she reappeared on the other side.

She turned slightly to look at the wall she had just come though.

'_Huh. So it does work_.'

When Luffy returned her focus to the task at hand she found herself surrounded by thousands of marines (or so she's been told).

One thousand, two thousand, ten thousand.

It didn't matter.

She wouldn't just let Robin go.

Ripping through the men, Luffy kicked and punched at the men knocking them out with a single fist or foot.

A sword slashed across Luffy's mid-section.

Dropping to the ground Luffy cringed slightly as something dug into her side uncomfortably.

Ignoring it for the moment Luffy pushed herself forward delivering a clenched fist straight into the marine's face.

Kicking a few more away, Luffy looked down to find the source of her earlier pain.

Reaching down Luffy's fingers twisted gently around the hilt of Ace's knife –which she'd been wearing but not using– due to a lack of knowing how to use a blade properly.

Deciding that if Ace could do it, it couldn't possibly be _that_ hard, she pulled it out of its sheath and brought it up it a protective stance in front of her face.

The fighting quickly resumed with Luffy now punching, kicking and slicing her opponents, many before they knew the blow was coming.

"You're wasting my time." Luffy growled out.

Eyeing off a nearby building Luffy leaped towards it until...

"Oof."

Stashing the blade away Luffy brought her hands up to her eye level and began to talk to them as if not an entity of her own body.

"On the building, not through the building... Stupid body."

Luffy continued to glare at her vibrating hands until they slowed and gradually stopped. She'd have to learn to control it and fast, if it was going to be useful.

It was a good thing that having consumed the speed speed fruit, things did generally work out quickly for her.

However deciding that for now, the safest option was climbing out the window, Luffy soon found herself back on track running along the top of the buildings towards where she thought Robin would be.

Eventually ditching the marines Luffy landed on top of the final gate before the building that surely contained Robin.

Making her way over to the edge she peered down, examining the gaping hole between herself and the tower.

She licked her lips as she looked down once more before backing up to the opposite edge.

"That's a long way to jump."

Just as she was about to start into a run a man appeared before her. Frowning slightly she remembered where she'd seen him from.

"You were with the pigeon guy!"

Blueno merely shook his head at the woman's antics.

He could hardly fathom how she had managed to gain the bounty she did with that sort of intelligence.

"Do you intend to keep on struggling?"

"I won't give up till I die!"

With that Luffy slid her foot back ready to spring into action but first there was something she needed to confirm.

"Robin's there isn't she. In that building behind you. Don't get in my way."

"You fool. Do you understand that you are going against the world government? You will be destroyed like a ship against the rocks. You are much too weak to win."

Tired of the ongoing rant Luffy decided that the 'Ladies First' policy would have to be put into effect. Almost flying towards him Luffy let loose a tremendous punch pushing Blueno back.

A vein popped along his forehead.

That punch shouldn't have been so strong.

This was not the same women as he met back in Water 7.

"I underestimated you. I won't do it again."

This time Blueno made the first move striking out with his leg; "Hurricane leg!"

Luffy maintained her footing as she rotated her upper body out of harm's way. His next kick forced her to shift further to one side.

Using the momentum created Luffy let herself fly backwards twisting over to push off the roof with her right arm.

Further away, Luffy righted herself, monitoring closely where his next move would come from.

"Door Door."

Luffy's eyes widened in surprise as two hands came from underneath her, trapping her legs in the roof.

"WHAT DID YOU DO? Where the heck did these doors come from?"

Blueno's expression didn't change as he watched the young woman in what he assumed (incorrectly) to be distress.

Raising his leg to deliver the final blow his eyes widened in astonishment as the young woman literally fell from view.

Confusion washed over him as he knelt to the ground, his hands tracing the concrete floor for any indication of an escape.

"Where the hell did she go?"

CRASH!

Blueno soon found out as he was flung into the air along with pieces of the building debris.

"Mmm... Still gotta work on going through versus going _through_ things" Luffy mused as she toed a bit of rubble.

Taking advantage of Luffy's somewhat distracted state and utilizing his mid-air position, Blueno came slamming down towards where the speedster was standing.

His movements came too slow as Luffy's eyes flickered upwards before she jumped out of the way at the last second. Her feet skidding along the ground as she came to a halt.

The pair danced back and forth, trading blows only coming to a halt after one particular kick from Blueno was redirected by Luffy shattering a portion of the building.

She understood now.

Changing direction mid air.

Speeding up the body beyond its normal capacity.

Kicks that sliced stone.

Now she understood how.

"This isn't any good."

Blueno stared blankly not at all understanding what the damn pirate was thinking about. Was the situation not any good? Was he not any good? His questioning was unnecessary as Luffy clarified what she had meant.

"If I stay like this I won't be able to protect my nakama. I have to get stronger or else I won't be able to compete with people like Aokiji."

"Not all my nakama are strong, but I would never give them up. Therefore to defend them and keep them with me I have to be the strongest. I will be the strongest."

Intrigued by the young woman Blueno couldn't help but question her further on her quest to protect her crewmates.

"And how do you intend to do that?"

Her eyes had disappeared beneath the shadow of the straw hat of her namesake as a confident smirk took shape on her face.

"I guess I should thank you... After all, you showed me."

* * *

><p>Sorry for the update being so late I am in a slump at the moment and I'm struggling a bit to get back into writing but I will do my best.<p>

Quick clarification, Luffy's speed has enabled her to vibrate individual particles in her body which means she can pass through things. Sort of like Kid Flash from Teen Titans or Kitty from X-men.


	29. Love Life

"I JUST WANT TO DIE!"

Luffy stood still, shocked by her usually calm archaeologist's explosion.

She'd heard similar words before.

Ace.

He'd never said them so directly to her but she had heard him questioning his existence late at night when he thought everyone was asleep.

* * *

><p>Luffy awoke with a whimper.<p>

Her breaths were short and ragged as she clutched her tattered blanket closer to her chest.

Squinting, Luffy examined their tree house looking for something that was out of place.

Sabo and top hat– check.

Shank's hat– check.

Ace–

"Ace?" Luffy whispered.

Luffy could fall asleep almost anywhere and at anytime knowing that her brothers were close by, but without them she always felt less secure.

It was an uncomfortable feeling, one that prickled slightly at her neck, not allowing her to switch off completely.

Getting up slowly, Luffy tip-toed over to the window, carefully sidestepping the creaky board used as an alert system to intruders.

The moon was dimmed by the thick canopy of the trees, but not so much so that Luffy couldn't see anything.

She finally located Ace seated on a nearby tree, his body curled into a hollowed out section.

Opening her mouth to call out to him, Luffy abruptly halted as she heard his voice.

Was there someone else there?

Climbing out of the window and crawling along one of the thick supporting branches, Luffy stopped as the outline of Ace –most definitely alone– became clear.

"I'm such a waste of space."

* * *

><p>Why did they think like that? Luffy couldn't understand. Both individuals had so much to offer. The world had so much in it to live for.<p>

They had people that cared about them.

_She_ cared about them.

Spandam's laugh cackled on in the background as Luffy remained locked in a glare with Robin

"You really want to die?"

Not waiting for a response Luffy ploughed on.

"Fine. You can die... After we've got you out of here."

At that a blast sounded behind Luffy. A second hole appeared, not dissimilar to the one created by Luffy earlier.

Luffy didn't react to her crew joining her one by one, but rather continued to focus on Robin. She had faith that the others would sort themselves out soon enough.

After all, it had become almost common place that Sanji and Zoro would have a spat with one another before taking out their anger on the real opponents.

"Robin. You can do whatever the hell you want. Just as long as you do it by our sides."

Robin was being crushed by the overwhelming onslaught of emotions that where churning around inside her.

For more years than she cared to remember she had been alone.

No one to care for her.

No one who loved her.

No one that would go to such extraordinary lengths just to ensure she could do what _she_ wanted.

She remained oblivious to the trails of water dripping off her chin as she stared into the eyes of her Captain.

Spandam tired of not being the centre of attention in the past (and in his opinion– gruelling) sixty seconds, decided it was time to reveal his 'secret weapon'.

"WAAAHAHAHA!"

The obnoxious laugh rang out across the open chasm.

"Idiot pirates. You can't even dream of standing against the government's CP9! Not to mention I have this!"

Spandam in his outstretched hand revealed a golden den-den mushi. It's coating glistening in the sunlight.

"Behold the BUSTER CALL!"

If Luffy had been concerned over Robin's reaction to having Aokiji in close proximity, her reaction to whatever the hell a 'buster call' was– was a hundred times worse.

It was evident to Luffy that her reaction had pulled her away from the present and back to her past, reliving something that had been desperately pushed aside over the years.

Snapping out of it, Robin snarled at Spandam.

"Do you have any, any idea at all, what will happen if you press that?"

Robin continued on, desperately trying to explain the horrors that would follow the use of the Buster Call.

Luffy was silent as she let her archaeologist rant and yell. It was a tactic that had always seemed to work with cooling down Nami when she was in a similar angry mood.

Luffy's attention was refocused when Robin cried out the reason she wanted to be abandoned.

"I'M A BURDEN! I WON'T BRING YOU INTO MY MESS. I JUST WANT TO DIE!"

The mutterings of 'Robin' from the crew floated over to Luffy as she watched on. Her expression never changing. Not giving even the slightest hint of her thoughts.

Spandam once again feeling ignored let out a roaring laugh jumped onto the ledge of the building and with almost a hero-ish pose, pointed to the flag blowing in the wind.

"Do you understand now? The Government. We are the world. This is what hunts her."

"I understand."

Was all Luffy said before lowering her voice to address Sogeking standing to her left.

"The flag. Burn it."

The sharp shooter nodded slightly. Within seconds the flag was encompassed in fire, pieces of the burnt material falling away in the wind.

Spandam was in shock as snot ran down his nose. They had not seriously declared war on the government had they?

Robin had taken a step back in a slightly more dignified display of shock.

Why? Why would they do this? She wasn't worth it.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"We're Pirates. The government will _always_ be our enemy."

* * *

><p>Hey everyone, I'm going to be away for the next two weeks so the next chapter will probably be up in three weeks to give me time to get it to my beta and back :)<br>I hope everyone has a great summer/winter holiday break.


	30. Wanted Woman

**Hey Everyone! So, I'm back for another year! I hope you all had a happy holiday :) Also... time skip warning.**

* * *

><p>Toss, spin, catch. Toss, spin, catch. Toss, spin, catch.<p>

The cycle had been repeated for almost an hour as the young blond man lay on his bed, carelessly tossing his metal staff, watching it spin and narrowly miss the roof before it returned to his awaiting hand.

It was at the hottest part of the day and he had slunk away from the sun's blaring heat in favour of doing nothing of any consequence.

Whilst he was sure there was something he _could_ be doing, everything that _had_ to be done was completed, which was why he had settled into his routine.

Toss, spin, catch.

Toss, spin, CRASH, catch.

His eyes squeezed shut as he halted in his movements listening carefully to find out whether or not he'd been heard.

Counting slowly down from sixty, he decided it was probably best not to continue throwing his weapon around in case he made another hole in his roof.

Groaning slightly, he examined the roof. He hadn't gone all the way through, perhaps another inch and he'd be seeing the sky, but otherwise it wasn't too bad.

Looking over to his small desk piled with multiple stacks of paperwork (all of which he'd finished that morning and was now in need to offload it to the correct people) he honed in on one particular page.

The poster technically shouldn't have been in his room, but when he'd seen it on his way past the intelligence quarters, he couldn't help himself but take it.

Easing it out from its half buried position, the man smiled as he held it above his head, lining it up over the position of his almost new skylight.

Perfect.

After a few minutes of rummaging through his desk draws he managed to find four nails to stick the poster up on the ceiling.

Once it was secured the young man flopped back onto his bed to examine the new addition to his group of posters.

'Strawhat Luffy, Dead or Alive, 300,000,000 Beli.'

Shifting his gaze up further behind the poster was two almost identical ones, the only difference being the value of the bounty.

He wondered with some amusement whether Dragon had seen the Wanted poster or not. Would he be proud? Closing his eyes briefly the image of a smirking Dragon fluttered behind his eyelids.

Yes.

Dragon would be.

Anyone wreaking havoc on the Government was looked favourably upon by him, and if it was his own son then it would be that much sweeter.

Opening his eyes, they flickered to the other collection of bounty posters. The second collection contained more posters with quite a few more modifications. This group held changes not only of bounty value but also in pictures signifying a switch in alliance.

'Fire Fist Ace'

His bounty was a considerable amount higher than Luffy's, but considering the two year head start Luffy could be considered to be advancing faster than Ace.

The young man sweat dropped at that thought.

"That's only because she can't go anywhere without causing a disruption. Ace can contain himself at least some of the time."

Rolling off the side of his bed, he grabbed his favourite hat.

After all, he had work to do.

* * *

><p><em><strong>On board the Red Force<strong>_

Normally Ben wouldn't hesitate to tell his Captain anything he needed to know, no matter what sort of mood he was in.

That was normally.

Not to mention the information he had to give him wasn't necessarily '_need to know'_ it was just that Shanks would really, really, really _want_ to know.

The Captain of the Red Hair Pirates however, had been in a foul mood since they had failed to make any head way with Whitebeard.

He hadn't been sure on the move himself, but he understood why Shanks had felt obligated to go.

His thoughts were drawn away from his Captain as he refocused on the cheeky grin smiling up at him on the latest set of updated bounties.

He'd read the article that had accompanied her bounty and sifted through those belonging to her crewmates, and with feelings akin to those of a proud uncle realised that she had turned out just like the captain.

Snorting to himself gently he shook his head, if he ever had kids– which was seemingly unlikely at his constantly increasing age– the last person he'd want as a role model would be his captain.

Sure he was a loveable idiot, fiercely protective and incredibly dependable in a fight of course, but NOT the role model type.

"Anything interesting in the paper?"

Ben almost jumped a mile high at the unexpected voice of his Captain.

Deciding it was a now or never situation, he handed the poster to Shanks first.

"Nothing too interesting."

The smirk that washed across Shanks' face was infectious as Ben found himself smirking along with his Captain.

An errant thought crossed Ben's mind as Shanks called for the drinking to start, 'why hadn't he given this to him earlier?'


	31. Grandfather Garp?

"That's just disgusting."

"I really didn't think that it was possible."

Nami and Sanji stared at their Captain, Nami's expression one of total disgust whilst Sanji stood bewildered.

He shook his head before placing the plate he had in his hand down on the table.

Luffy's arm reached out and stuffed the piece of meat in her mouth.

Whilst Luffy stuffing her face post-battle was nothing new, the fact that she was still sound asleep yet sitting perfectly upright and feeding herself was not something either members of the crew had seen before.

"Do think that when the food went missing overnight and Luffy always denied it was her, was because she was asleep?"

Turning away from the scene Nami ran her hands through her hair as she thought on Sanji's words.

"Mmm... That would explain a lot."

Slumping down in a vacant chair Nami wrapped her arms over her head.

What were they going to do?

They were stranded on Water 7 with only 100 million Beli to their names. That was nowhere near enough to get a new ship, clothes and supplies. Luffy could probably eat 100 million Beli worth without really trying.

"Nagagaga. What an interesting one."

Kokoro's laughter served to worsen Nami's mood, causing small rainclouds starting to form around the depressed navigator.

"I brought guests with me."

"Guests? What good are guests unless they're going to give us a ship." Nami muttered lowly.

Leaving her head on the table Nami tilted it to look at the 'guests'.

She blinked one, twice...

"ORANGE TREES!"

Her arms grasp the closest plant tightly to her body as she squeezed her eyes shut in excitement.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

As Robin and Chopper entered the room Nami released the tree (now a few leaves less) to announce the return of their belongings.

A secondary distraction from the fact that they still did not have a ship entered the room in the form of Franky followed closely by Kiwi and Mozu.

"Are you guys all feeling SUPER!"

Franky failed to wait for a response before plonking himself on the ground.

"I have something to tell you."

Sanji groaned and then focused on the cooking steak for the black hole which was Luffy stomach.

Mildly offended, Franky shushed him before continuing on as if the chef hadn't said anything.

Nami listened in silence. If this was going where she thought it was going, she was going to be one very happy woman.

"So you're giving us the ship." Sanji confirmed at the end of Franky's tale.

"I got the money to build it from you guys anyways."

CRASH

"Eeep!"

"Eh!"

"What the hell was that?!"

In the clearing smoke a vice-admiral strolled forward.

"You're the Strawhats." It was less a question and more a statement.

The present Strawhats plus Franky assumed defensive positions to protect the still sleeping Captain.

Before any of them could even flinch the marine was behind them throwing a punch to Luffy's head.

"WAKE UP YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING PIRATE!"

The chair beneath her splintered as Luffy smashed to the ground. Her hands clasping her head in pain.

"OWWWW!"

"You've been causing problems again Luffy."

She hadn't needed him to speak to recognise him. The 'Fist of Love' was deeply imbedded within her memory that even in 50 years from now – even if the old man was dead – she wouldn't forget the feeling.

Shuffling back to the wall, in act of fear not seen more than a handful of times, Luffy swallowed searching for her voice.

"Grandpa!"

"WHAT?!"

The remaining people in the room watched on in a mixture of horror and shock at the man proclaimed to be Luffy's grandfather.

"You owe me an apology kid. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A MARINE!"

Finally finding her feet in an explosion of anger and energy she stood up to Garp.

"I TOLD YOU! I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AND I'M ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PIRATE!"

"THIS IS ALL THE FAULT OF 'RED-HAIRED'!"

Luffy's shoulders vibrated violently as steam began to rise from her body.

A feral growl escaped her lips, her eyes narrowing at her Grandpa.

"Shanks saved my life. You will not speak of him like that!"

Panic spread through the crew as Luffy was lifted from the ground, her shirt fisted in the Garp's hand.

"I'm sorry!"

Her hands crossed across her face in a desperate attempt to stop another 'Fist of Love' coming her way.

"Holy shit! She's not going to fight him?"

Sanji was starting to hit melting point. What the hell were they supposed to do if Luffy wasn't going to fight him? He almost wished the marimo was here, to tell them what they needed to do– almost.

Then the next thing they knew, the pair fell asleep, Luffy due to her still recovering state, and Garp as he had not slept well since the raising of his granddaughter's bounty.

Everyone remaining held their breath; no one had any ideas on how to diffuse the situation at hand.

The atmosphere was broken when Garp came to, his arms brutally shaking Luffy back and forth.

"I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TALKING TO YOU, YOU DAMN BRAT! Do you even know what kind of trouble that man 'Red-Haired' has been up to?"

With that Garp unceremoniously dumped Luffy's body to the floor.

Chopper hesitantly inching towards his injured Captain froze when, despite the situation, a huge smile crept along Luffy's face.

Clutching the straw hat to her chest let out a squeal of excitement.

"Shanks-y? He's okay? I'm so glad they're alright!"


	32. Light in the Darkness

Ace crept silently along the roof line as he watched his targets make their way down the deserted street.

It had taken a lot longer than he had originally thought it would, but at last he would catch the slimy son of a bitch that dared to go against the Whitebeard family.

Nobody touched his family.

Not if they wanted to live.

"Bwahaha! Water 7 eh? We'll get 'er for sure this time."

Ace's eyebrows furrowed as he slinked further in front of the group, uncertain of who the 'her' in their conversation was.

Making it to a building sufficiently ahead Ace swung himself over the roof line landing in a crouched position.

Clearly visible there was no going back now. Not that turning back had ever been an option.

"You've been a pain to hunt down Teach...or do you prefer Blackbeard these days?"

"ACE!"

Blackbeard grinned sleazily at the sight of his old Commander.

"It's been a while! How you been?"

The remaining Blackbeard pirates watched on with interest. Having a member like Ace would undoubtedly raise their profile. They presumed their captain thought the same.

Ace said nothing. He wasn't here to chat or reminisce.

Realising this, Blackbeard continued as if he hadn't been ignored.

"You should join my crew! I'm going to conquer the world. Whitebeards days are over. I even know how I'm gonna do it. It'll all be thanks to the little Strawhat girl."

Ace's eyes hardened as he glared down at Teach. His fists tightened but he left them dangling by his sides.

Luffy was the 'her'.

At the thought Ace clenched his jaw attempting to suppress his urge to growl like a wild animal.

He couldn't get riled up now.

That would come.

"Not a chance. That 'Strawhat girl' is my baby sister. There's no way in hell I'm letting the likes of you touch her. Not to mention what you did to dad."

Laffitte's lips twitched upwards as the information processed.

_Little sister huh? That could come in handy. Very handy._

His concentration was brought back to the conversation at the sound of his captain's rambunctious laughter.

"Bwahaha. What you talkin' 'bout? I didn't touch Pop's"

A sigh slipped out of Laffitte.

Of course Blackbeard neglected the information with leverage and went straight to the accusation.

Teach was just fortunate he was so strong otherwise there was no way any of them would have joined his crew.

It didn't matter if he'd attacked Whitebeard or not. The sister though...

Meanwhile Ace shook his head in disbelief. He knew Teach wasn't an idiot but sometimes things just went way over his head.

"I didn't say Pop's. I said dad. Thatch. You will pay for what you did."

At this Teach cocked his head.

_Thatch?_

"What? It's not like I killed the man."

* * *

><p><strong>Please don't shoot me. I'm sorry that my updates have been all over the place. I've started a new job and it's currently draining all of my time as well as my creative juices :(<strong>


	33. Family First

"C'mon Luffy hurry up! You're such a slow poke."

It was something Ace never thought he'd say to his speed demon sister.

It had been almost two weeks since Thatch left them and Luffy had definitely taken his parting the hardest.

The first few days had been the worst. Luffy sulked around comparing almost everything they did to how it had been done with Thatch.

By the end of that week Sabo had convinced them that it would be best to return to their tree house. Whilst Luffy had downright refused the suggestion desperate to stay where they had lived with the only dad she knew. Luffy had eventually caved when Ace and Sabo claimed that they would go back without her.

"Immanotslow!"

The indignant response melded together as Luffy sped past her brothers, Sabo instinctively grabbing his hat as the wind trailed behind the human blur.

Ace, still adjusting to wearing his orange cow-boy hat, missed it by a fraction as it was swept off his head and into the dirt a few metres ahead.

"Luffy." Ace growled out.

Luffy threw her head back and laughed at her brother's misfortune.

Her two brothers made eye contact briefly sharing a silent conversation. This was the first time Luffy and convincingly laughed since Thatch had been gone. They'd be damned if they were going to let her go backwards from here.

"Why you!" Ace exclaimed as he set after her.

Her laughter reverberating off the trees as they dashed through the forest, unawares that they had left their eldest brother behind.

Sabo smiled gently at the scene he had just witnessed. Closing his eyes he breathed deeply.

Running a hand down his face, his eyes opened with a haunted look echoing out from them. Glancing over his shoulder, back towards the village, he knew it was only a matter of time.

Today, tomorrow, a week?

Sooner or later his biological father would find him. It was information he'd stumbled upon when he was by himself in town. Now, with Luffy finally picking up her spirits he was glad he had chosen not to tell his siblings.

It wasn't a lie. Lying was bad. That's what Thatch had always told them... unless it was going to get them out of a 'sticky' situation.

It was more of an avoidance of topic.

His father was looking for him and when the man wanted something, he indisputably got it. It was one of the many reasons why Sabo detested his noble blood so much.

To see other people so willing to bend over backwards just to please his father, it made him sick to the stomach.

What made them any better than anyone else? Money? Power? None of those things had any value.

Sabo had wished he could have traded it all in just for a bit of his parents time and love. There wasn't a single thing he'd learnt from his father, except what not to do.

Thatch however... he would forever be Sabo's real dad. Someone who taught him how to fight and what it meant to be a family.

The things he'd always wanted from his own father.

"SABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Luffy's hollering voice snapped him out of thoughts. Realising that the sun had almost set, Sabo sprinted down the path of destruction created by his siblings.

As he neared the clearing beneath their tree house Sabo could see the gentle plumes of smoke rising from where Luffy and Ace had already started cooking dinner.

Pausing for a moment to regain his breath, he then continued through the foliage.

"So what's on the menu tonight?" Sabo asked flashing the biggest smile he could muster.

"BEAR! YUM! ACE, SABO'S HERE SO WE CAN EAT IT NOW! It's been cooking for AGES!"

Ace scowled playfully at Luffy.

"It has NOT been cooking for ages. Now sit down Luffy! You're making me dizzy watching you jump around in circles."

Feeling slightly dizzy herself, Luffy plonked down to the ground without protest.

It wasn't much longer before the meat was distributed equally amongst the three and devoured in even less time.

Fully sated –for now– Luffy flopped onto her back and promptly fell asleep as her body worked furiously to digest the monstrous consumption of meat.

"Where'd you go this afternoon?"

"Huh?"

'_Bugger'_ was all that crossed Sabo's mind; he'd been hoping that neither sibling would call him out on his sudden disappearance.

"This afternoon, when Luffy and I ran off? You didn't follow us."

"I was... thinking."

"Uh-huh." Ace responded not very impressed with his brother's answer.

Silence reigned over the passing minuets. Both boys lost in their own thoughts.

"Hey Ace?"

"Mmm?"

"You'll always look after Lu right?"

Cracking an eye open to peer at Sabo, Ace could the seriousness rampant across his face.

"We're a family. We'll always look out for one another."

"What about when we go out to sea?"

Ace lay down on his back, shutting his eye before answering.

"Where we are doesn't change the fact that we are family. At sea, at home, family always comes first."

Sabo mused on Ace's words briefly before putting another question to him.

"So, even if you're out at sea, millions of miles away, if you heard that Luffy was in trouble and needed help you'd protect her right?"

Ace's brows furrowed in thought.

_What's with Sabo tonight?_

Rolling onto his side, Ace gave his full attention to his 'older' brother.

"Is something wrong?"

"What! No. No, it's nothing. Just wondering..."

Ace examined Sabo's face. It was evident something was wrong, but Sabo would tell him if it was serious right?

Deciding it was best not to question him again, Ace chose to placate Sabo's strange train of thought.

"Even if I am millions of millions of miles away, I PROMISE that I will always help Luffy, if by chance she needs protecting. Are you happy now?"

A toothy grin covered Sabo's face.

"Yep! I promise as well. Hehehehe."

"Man, you're starting to get more and more like Luffy every day. Soon they'll be calling me the responsible one."

Sabo laughter turned to a snorted at the thought of Ace ever being considered 'responsible'.

"Not likely."

Lying down in the grass, Sabo took in the view of their 'home'. It wasn't much, and he certainly didn't have his own room, but it was a better home than the excessively large, cold house in which his parents lived.

As Luffy's gentle snores carried over them, they knew that there was no point trying to go up the tree tonight.

"Night Ace."

"G'night."

Ace's snores soon entered a duet with Luffy's, leaving Sabo once again with his thoughts.

Ace was right. They were a family, and as such, they would always protect one another no matter the cost.

He wouldn't be waiting for his father to find him. No, Sabo would go to him. It was the only way to keep them away from harm.

It wouldn't be tomorrow though.

Tomorrow he and Ace had promised to go with Luffy to visit Makino, and if there was one thing he had absolute faith in, it was his family's ability to never break a promise.

* * *

><p><strong>I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You have no idea how much you all helped motivate me to keep writing and really get back into 'Expect the Unexpected'... So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)<strong>


	34. No news is Good news?

The _Moby Dick_ bobbed gently beside the wharf at which the Whitebeard Pirates were currently docked.

Most of the crew were spread across the island, easily distinguishable from the local inhabitants, all of whom carried distinct characteristics not often seen above sea level.

Fins.

Tails.

Gills.

Scales.

Things that made the population of Fishman Island lumped into the World Government's definition of 'misfits' in its ordered view of society.

It was one of the many reasons the island had a place in Whitebeard's heart. His children were also, in their own ways, misfits that in varying ways had come into his care.

The natives of Fishman Island were no more or less individuals, with thoughts, feelings and aspirations as Whitebeard's 'children'.

The crew was more subdued than they had been in previous visits to the Island. The raucous laughter diminished, replaced with strained smiles and half-hearted chuckles.

Those of Fishman Island understood.

Just as the crew had understood their feelings of disconnect to the wider world, they knew the pain of loss and the fear of not knowing.

They knew the pain.

Marco sat in the infirmary, gazing out the small porthole.

He had not left the ship since Ace's departure, unless it was on direct order from his Captain. Those orders had been scarce of late, but were still more frequent than the First Division Commander would have liked.

His behaviour went unquestioned by the crew, although, in the rare instances when someone made to mention something, they were quickly shut down by anyone nearby with a pointed stare.

The pain was raw to Marco, like alcohol poured into an open wound –but worse.

Whilst nothing was said, many of the crew wondered if Marco was taking it worse than Pop's.

Pop's always had a brave face. Even when the crew felt like they were facing death, nothing shook the experienced pirate.

This, however, had shaken him.

It had shaken everyone.

The worst times were meals. The clatter of forks on plates the only sound to echo around the once liveliest room on the ship.

There was no laughter, no jokes, no stealing of food from others' plates, no annoying brats falling asleep mid conversation only to wake up and continue on as if nothing had happened.

Dinner was almost always a compulsory event but for every other meal Marco squirreled himself away in the infirmary.

Marco's gaze shifted from the porthole to his brother in the bed beside his chair.

* * *

><p><em>As they finally pulled alongside the Moby Dick, Marco's ranting was far from over.<em>

_"I can't believe you're okay! What the hell took you so long! You can't be late and not be hurt! Why the hell aren't you hurt?"_

_Thatch laughed before replying, "My apologies your royal phoenix-ness, I didn't realise that coming back alive and in one piece would bother you so much; in future I'll be sure to make sure I return a limb short."_

* * *

><p>What a joke.<p>

Thatch had been safer away from the _Moby Dick_ than on it.

Marco watched the rise and fall of Thatch's chest, the only reminder that his brother was still alive despite being devoid of any other signs of life.

If only the fourth division hadn't bothered to raid the stupid ship that tried to attack them.

If only Thatch had listened to his son's encouragement and eaten the damned fruit.

If only that disgusting son of a bitch had never joined the crew.

If only...

There were so many 'if only' situations, each with their own outcome, but Marco didn't have the power to turn back time, what had happened had happened, he couldn't let himself get worked up over the impossible.

It hurt.

He feared for his brother. Thatch's life hung in the balance.

The doctors on board always answered Marco's unspoken questions with 'no change today', but there were days that were, by far, worse than others.

They were the days when Thatch's skin got clammy and turned an unnatural grey colour, when his breathing was ragged like each breath was causing him pain.

It was hard to watch.

It was **harder** not to.

When he wasn't with Thatch, the missing presence of Ace was more palpable.

He worried that Shanks was right.

Teach– he was too much for Ace to handle. Ace was a skilled fighter, well versed in combat, but he often acted first, thought second and it would get him into trouble... if it hadn't already.

The last they had heard from him was weeks ago when he was on Drum Island with a trail gone cold.

_No news is good news_.

Marco wanted to believe Pop's words more than anything, but this time...

Before coming to Fishman's Island, Marco had scoured the newspaper everyday looking for anything that might give an indication to Ace's whereabouts, a house fire, a burning bush, an idiot dying and coming alive again in a restaurant, but there was nothing.

Not a word.

Ace... Ace was still only a kid and Marco couldn't chase away the darkness that kept creeping into his mind.

The insidious 'what ifs' that circled his mind day and night.

What if Ace doesn't win, he di– doesn't make it, Thatch wakes up and...

Marco closed his eyes as a shuddering breath passed his lips.

"Please kid, please be alright."

* * *

><p><strong>MARCOOOOOO! I'm so sorry!<strong>

**...I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thank you again to everyone who reviewed :)**


	35. Bag of Bones

"PRETTY!"

It was times like these that reminded Zoro just what he was dealing with when it came to his Captain.

Inhuman.

Crazy.

Kinda scary.

Most _normal_ people, would react as the rest of the crew had, fear or preparation for the unknown threat.

Luffy, however, had shown neither of the reactions in response to the 'mystery barrel' (Luffy's choice of name not his) which had exploded on deck after which it sent a red flare shooting into the sky.

He pushed his kanta back into its sheath but never removed his hand from its hilt as the crew scared Chopper and Usopp with ghost stories.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho, Yo-ho-ho-ho, Yo-ho-ho-ho."

Usopp's shaking grew worse as the haunting echo washed across the ship.

Usopp knew this was it.

He would never see the light of day again.

With flailing limbs Ussop collapsed to the deck of Sunny, his tears leaking into the snot running from his nose.

"Please God! I'll be good! I promise! I'll never tell another lie again! God!"

"If I remember correctly 'God' was sent flying by Captain." Zoro mumbled, not at all amused by the snipers lack of dignity.

In his state of absolute terror, all of Usopp's senses were working overtime, the words of the first mate ricocheting around his brain.

_Luffy kicked God's ass. Luffy kicked God's ass. Luffy kicked God's Ass._

"Damnit Luffy! Why did you piss off God?!"

"Yo-ho-ho-ho, Yo-ho-ho-ho."

Usopp's tremors resumed as the music grew louder with the ever approaching ship.

Luffy meanwhile had stars in her eyes as she took in every detail of the huge ship.

A ghost ship.

A real life ghost ship.

This was her first time seeing one.

Shanks had told her stories about a haunted ship he had encountered once. She could remember sitting on his lap during one particular story when one of the other crew members snuck up behind her and yelled 'boo'.

Her heart had been sent into overdrive as she squealed in fear, her head burying itself into the Red-Haired Captain's shirt.

The boisterous laughter of the crew and Captain carried on many minutes after her initial reaction.

It was then Luffy had sworn she would never be frightened by anything related to ghosts... Although she did appreciate Makino's stern glare later that evening which led to the Captain's offer to walk her home.

The ships sails were in tatters and main mast looked so fragile that if any one leant back against it would topple down into the ocean.

As Luffy's eyes continued her appraisal on the boat her gaze came to rest on a solitary figure.

Surely there couldn't be...

"There's something on board." Sanji said softly as he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

Robin and Chopper stiffened at they too came to locate the 'something' that was on board.

Franky who had not left the ships helm muttered to himself, "This is so not super."

Luffy's gaze sharpened as she took in the skeletal-like structure of the 'thing' on board.

This was cool.

Way cool.

Shanks' ghost ship never had ANYTHING as awesome as this.

She had to get a closer look.

Bouncing on her toes Luffy shot off the Sunny and latched onto the rope ladder hanging off the side of the larger vessel.

Nami cringed as she saw her Captain rush off without a thought of... well, anything or any type of plan.

She didn't want to go on board. Really, didn't want to, but it was an old boat with probably no more than the one –skel– thing on board, and the odds were definitely of the ship having treasure on board.

"I'll go make sure Luffy doesn't do something stupid."

"Mmm..." Robin mused.

"That will make three people in the search party and five on board."

"Three?" Nami quizzed as she looked around the deck.

Robin, Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, Franky...

"Sword-san has followed Captain-chan." Robin supplied indifferently.

"Great stupid and stupider. Sanji let's go."

"Yes, Nami darling!"

Sanji, despite the situation managed to noodle-dance behind the navigator as they headed after their Captain and first mate.

Smiling knowingly, Robin took a seat under the tree on deck. Their navigator was driven by her desire for treasure but was too afraid to go by herself.

Perhaps it was better this way. After all splitting into two even groups would be safest for everyone.

Then again, sending the three strongest fighters meant that if anything was to happen –such as someone dying due to unseeable events – the next line of defence was herself and maybe Franky.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Robin decided it was best to keep a 'close eye' on the search party.

Meanwhile, Zoro had managed to convince Luffy to slow down enough to let Nami and Sanji catch up, although why it had to be DART-BROW of all people was beyond him.

"Nami, Sanji, hurry up! I want to go meet Mr. Skeleton."

"You can't just name it Mr. Skeleton Luffy."

Pouting, Luffy looked down to Zoro.

"But why not?"

Zoro panicked internally as he realised he didn't have a pre-prepared excuse ready.

"Uh...uh...You could hurt its feelings!"

If the boat hadn't been covered in a thick slime darker than his own hair colour he might have found himself banging his head mercilessly against it.

Hurt its feelings?

What had he come to?

Did his sanity have any further to fall?

"Oh... Well... I'll ask first!"

Clearly it did.

"Oi! Marimo! Why'd we stop?"

Before he could send an insult back, Luffy had already resumed climbing the ladder.

"C'mon! I want to meet Mr. Skeleton!"

Tossing herself over the railing, Luffy landed in a crouch, her hand resting protectively on her hat.

Despite their different reasoning's, everyone stuck close to Luffy.

"Where'd he go?"

"Yo-ho-ho-ho! Greetings! I thought I saw you coming but I don't have eyes to see with, yo-ho-ho-ho!"

"Oh My God."

"Luffy, there is no 'God' you beat him remember."

"If there's no God, how did she beat him, shitty marimo?"

"It...It...It talked."

"My–my! What a pleasant surprise to have two beautiful women on board! I don't suppose you'd be so kind to show me your panties?"

Luffy tilted her head. Why would it want to see her panties if it didn't have eyes.

"Like hell!"

"Not a chance!"

The skeleton was quickly dealt with, with a swift kick and the blunt edge of a sword.

"What you do that for?!"

Luffy was dumfounded at the reaction of her crew members. There wasn't any harm in what Mr. Skeleton had asked.

Zoro rubbed his temple as he grumbled unintelligible words, letting the 'chivalrous' chef take care of it. Sometimes Luffy's mind was too innocent for Zoro to comprehend.

"Don't worry about it Luffy. It's just a guy thing."

He would never say it out loud, but Zoro was so glad to have Sanji here right now. He would NOT have been able to handle the situation as smoothly as Mr Slimy Smooth-Talker.

Shrugging her shoulders Luffy accepted the offered excuse before focusing back on Mr. Skeleton.

"Hey Mr. Skeleton! Become my Nakama!"

"Okay."

"Luffy..." Zoro growled, "You cannot ask that thing to join the crew."

"Yo-ho-ho-ho! That cut straight to my heart, although I do not have a heart to cut to!"

"Hehehe. He's funny! Besides, that wasn't very nice Zoro! You said not to hurt his feelings."

Sanji physically blanched. Marimo had told her WHAT?!

Zoro's head dropped forward in defeat. He couldn't compete with 'the look' that Luffy was giving him. It was mixture of wide eyed pleading and hardened defiance that wouldn't let anyone tell her what to do.

What had he done to deserve this?

He may not believe in God, but he sure as hell believed in karma.

And karma was definitely a bitch.

* * *

><p><strong>So... I told myself that I would -without fail- have this chapter up on Wednesday or Thursday... Considering it's Saturday I'm really sorry that it's late. I do have a reasonable excuse though! I started university this week and when I combined that with work it just equated to no free time.<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!**


	36. Darkness Descends

Ace returned to consciousness as a jolt of pain racked his entire system.

"Ah...Would you look at that...Sleeping beauty has finally woken up."

_Well shit_.

The cackling laughter of marines and guards made Ace feel like he'd just stepped into a nightmare.

His head was throbbing and he was caked in dirt and blood– most of which he was sure was his own.

The dirt and blood were an obvious deduction, he had fought with Teach and he had lost. The pulsing in his brain was probably the result of being thrown off the marine warship and onto the dock he was currently lying on.

Worse than the pain in his head was an itch that lay just beneath his skin, a crawling sensation that could only mean one thing, seastone.

For the most part of his life during which he'd had his devil fruit, Ace had managed to avoid coming into contact with it on most occasions.

Now, however, the thick casings around his wrists were enough for him to want to never see it again in his lifetime.

He could physically feel himself loosing strength as his energy was mercilessly pulled away from him.

Perhaps Thatch had been right.

Perhaps the benefits of a devil fruit weren't enough to have such a widely known weakness.

Ace's focus was brought back to the present as a foot connected with his stomach. His muscles contracted involuntarily to defend him from the pain. He had taken worse, much worse.

He knew the types of people that the government employed for these roles, the sadists, the power hungry, the ones that were too violent to sustain a normal career around the everyday citizen.

These people fed off the pain of others.

They needed it, like they needed food and water.

Ace schooled his expression to one of indifference, he would not let them see his pain, he would not let them hear it and he as sure as hell would let them get anything from him.

He would endure anything they gave him, hell, he might even give them a smirk just to really piss them off.

A rough hand twisted itself in Ace's hair, pulling his face up.

"Take a look at the sky Fire Fist, 'cause there ain't no sunshine where you're going."

His eyes flickered to the sun before he was dragged through the gates of Impel Down.

The doors swung shut behind him blocking out the natural light of day, replaced with candles lining the walls, the shadows dancing in more than the corners.

"Move."

Ace stumbled slightly as a strong hand whacked him across the back, he caught himself quickly and walked slowly down the dark hall, his head held high.

He was a Whitebeard Pirate.

He would show no pain and no weakness.

They would see **exactly** why he was Second Division Commander under the strongest pirate to roam the seas.

It didn't matter what they did to him now. There was no pain worse than that of the guilt that coursed through his body as he realised the real weight of the situation.

He had failed.

His nakama.

Pops.

Luffy.

Sabo.

Dad.

All of them.

He'd failed all of them.

Ace snorted drawing curious gazes from his escort of guards. They didn't ask, and he wouldn't tell. He'd been right all along. He WAS worthless. A waste of space. A nothing. A nobody. A...

His thoughts were abruptly halted as the image of a twelve year old Luffy frowning at him surfaced. It was the 'you're-in-trouble-I-can't-believe-you-face' that she had managed to perfect, first on Thatch and then later on himself.

Why she had needed that face to use on Dad had always baffled him. It wasn't until later that he realised that it worked better to freak Thatch out than her yelling and carrying on when he'd pulled some kind of prank on her, most frequently involving food.

It was also the face displayed before she'd run off, a stupid plan usually forming to somehow get back at her father, brothers or occasionally all of them.

* * *

><p>"Promise me you'll always live."<p>

"Luffy, I can't promise you that!"

Her eyes widened as a pout formed on her lips.

Ace sighed, it was a week before he could set sail and Luffy kept spurting out random promises she expected him to keep.

A promise was everything to their family. If you promised something your options were to keep it or die trying. There was no such thing as a broken promise.

* * *

><p>They promised that they would always be a family.<p>

Thatch promised that he would wait for them out on the Seas.

Sabo promised that he would live his life the way he wanted.

Luffy promised that she would meet Shanks and Dad in the New World.

Ace had promised Sabo that he would always protect Luffy.

And Ace had promised Luffy that he would live.

With a renewed fire in his eyes, Ace knew that this promise would be just like all the others. For Luffy, he would live.


	37. Beware the Bear

Luffy closed her eyes as she hurtled towards the ground.

She was tired.

Dead tired.

There should have been pain as she connected with the building debris that lay scattered from the Strawhat's fight with Oz, but there was none.

Her body was still running off battle-induced adrenaline.

She knew that she should listen to what her crew was saying but presently she couldn't bring herself to care.

_Just a quick nap_.

Usopp crossed his arms as he seated himself on an elevated piece of rubble not too far from his passed out captain.

"You guys know this isn't sustainable right? The enemies we come across are only going to be getting stronger and at this rate Luffy's going to kill herself from over doing it."

The rest of the crew frowned as they watched their Captain.

It was true that she had outdone herself in both of her last fights, going beyond her physical capabilities, but each time she got up, ready to do it all again.

_No_, Zoro thought, _what doesn't kill her will make her stronger_.

He could see it looking back on how far they'd come. From the people Luffy had fought and over come, each one a little stronger than the last.

He could see it right now.

The minor cuts that Chopper was attempting to patch up were fading almost right before his eyes. Luffy had always been a fast healer, but now her body was repairing itself at an unimaginable pace.

Injuries that should have taken weeks to heal were only taking days; ones that used to take days were only taking minuets or even seconds, just like now.

She might be wiping herself out by the end of each fight, yet her time to recover was steadily decreasing.

"OH MY GOD!"

"Nami, how many times do I have to say it, there is no God."

"Now's not the time Zoro! I forgot to tell you all but earlier I saw–"

Nami's eyes widened as she took a step back.

What were they going to do?

"Oi, oi! Nami, what did you see?"

Usopp gripped the navigators' shoulders as he shook her back and forth hoping to force out a response.

Sanji was about to attack Usopp for hurting his precious Nami-swan when she lifted a single arm to point directly behind them.

"Him." Nami squeaked.

"Who is–"

Usopp fell silent as Robin answered his unfinished question.

"Another of the Seven Warlords. Bartholomew Kuma. He was once considered the most violent pirate to travel the seas."

Cringing slightly Zoro pushed himself to his feet. Luffy was still out and that put him in charge of the crews safety. He wouldn't let his Captain down, even if it cost him his life.

It wasn't long before Kuma and Zoro were trading blows. Zoro knew he was at a huge disadvantage. Not only was this guy able to repel his attacks, but his mental exhaustion was starting to take toll.

His form was sloppy.

His mind was becoming unfocused.

He would need a miracle to get out of this alive. If he did, Zoro swore he would up his training tenfold. He never wanted to feel this weak or pitiful again.

The pair paused.

Zoro tried to stabilize his breath, counting slowly in his head whilst retaining a cool mask of indifference to the Warlord.

"I've heard that Strawhat had been collecting members of particular skill."

Robin and Zoro were the only ones not to react to Kuma's unintended compliment, the others rubbing the back of their heads in a show of flattered embarrassment.

"You are creating waves, above those of other pirates. Your bounties are starting to reflect those of pirates of more notoriety. The World Government is not blind. Your existence will be eradicated."

Fed up with the 'lecture', Zoro resumed their dance throwing everything behind his attack.

"Zoro! You're too injured!"

Usopp's cries fell on one set of deaf ears but not another's.

Zoro was quickly flung back to his nakama by Kuma's giant hand.

"I only need Strawhat to keep the World Government happy. Your choice. Giver her up or be annihilated."

Sanji reacted first sending the strongest kick he could muster into the chin of their opponent.

The shock of pain that rocked Sanji's leg forced him to the ground, his leg curled into his chest in a futile attempt to ease the pain.

Kuma had let his guard down, not expecting such an immediate reaction from any of the crew.

It was almost the way of most rookie pirates. Undying loyalty until their lives were the ones at risk of dying. Those were the crews that, for obvious reasons, fell apart.

He had expected the Strawhat's to be no different, yet the looks of defiance in even the most cowardly members, informed him he'd assumed incorrectly.

"I see you have made your decision."

"Don't you dare touch my nakama's."

The condensed bubble of air that Kuma had planned to unleash disappeared into nothingness.

"You will hand yourself in then."

Another rookie trait that often resulted in the demise of a crew was the captain's inability to die to protect their crew. Instead they would choose the path of a coward, running whilst their own heads were still attached.

"No."

Kuma almost found himself disappointed. So she would run.

"Zoro, take the others back to the ship."

Zoro's momentary hesitation was enough to signal to Luffy that he was reluctant to follow her orders. Her eyes narrowed as the pair silently communicated.

He may have started the fight but she would finish it.

Nodding gently, Zoro pushed gently on Chopper's shoulder forcing him to turn in the direction of the Sunny.

"Run, Chopper. We have to go."

The watery eyes of the youngest Strawhat showed what everyone was feeling. It was reluctance. It was fear. It was concern for the person who many of the crew owed their lives.

Blinking rapidly Chopper morphed into his reindeer form, hooves pounding the ground as he took the lead towards the ship.

Chopper would not raise his head to look where he was going– instead he relied on his nose, finally unable to hold back the tears.

Zoro took one last look at his Captain before following up the rear of the group.

Sanji ran alongside Zoro, making sure that everyone was keeping up. He wanted to question how they could do this to their beautiful Captain-chan, but he knew that Zoro wouldn't have allowed them to run without good reason.

The grin Luffy had given her first mate dropped off her face as she returned to gaze on the Warlord in front of her.

_Well this was no good_, Kuma mused as he watched the stern faced Monkey.

She was a lot more like Dragon than either of the two probably realised, although he could hardly fault the girl on that, never having met the man.

Kuma sighed.

This was not at all what he'd hoped for.

What he had really wanted was for Moria to force the Strawhat's to run away. Then he wouldn't be in this conundrum.

Turning to the left Kuma walked away slowly, his bible still clutched to his chest, leaving behind an incredibly confused Luffy.

"I thought you were going to fight me?"

"I've lost my interest. I suppose I will inform the government that you got away before I reached you."

Tilting her head, Luffy said nothing more as she watched the bear like man disappear over some rubble.

She stood there a few moments longer unsure of what this all meant. If he wasn't going to fight her then that was good...right? She could leave now?

Shrugging her shoulders Luffy started to whistle as she walked towards the Sunny her eyes lingering on her shadow beneath her feet.

"It's good to have you back!"

* * *

><p><strong>Week. From. Hell. I was supposed to have this up earlier, then life decided that it didn't like me :(<strong>  
><strong>Anywhoo, changing topic, I'm looking to update 'Expect the Unexpected's' summary, so if you guys have any ideas I'd love to hear them! (I can't write summaries -.-')<strong>


	38. Going Going

Luffy didn't really understand what was going on, but she had a rough idea.

Camie had been kidnapped.

She would be sold to the slave trade and abused by Celestial Dragons who had nothing better to do with their time.

Except that there was no way that Luffy would ever let that happen to one of her friends.

Inside Luffy knew she should have waited with the others until they had some kind of plan –she didn't even know what she should be looking for.

However, when Pappagu's cries had reached her ears, her instincts had kicked in telling her that she had to run.

Be it now, in the past or in the future. Luffy was ruled by instinct. There was no point wasting time planning what to do if she didn't get where she needed to be first.

CRASH.

"Ugh."

Luffy gripped her head as she collided with something hard. Pausing to look at what she crashed into (she could have sworn there was nothing in the way) she realised she was looking down on none other than her first mate.

"Zoro! Whatareyoudoingontheground? Camie'sbeenkidnapped! Wehavetofindher!"

Said first mate blinked consecutively whilst his brain tried to process the fast paced jumble he'd just received from his captain.

Meanwhile Luffy's brows furrowed further as her concern sky rocketed.

Bending down to wipe her hand along Zoro's face, she retracted her arm quickly, observing the red substance now coating her finger tips.

She sniffed it lightly, her tightened muscles relaxing slightly as she recognised what it was.

"Zoro?" Luffy question slowly. "Why are you covered in tomato sauce?"

Deciding it was best not to waste such a tasty condiment, Luffy liked her fingers clean, momentarily forgetting the situation they were in.

Zoro, willing the slight pinkness down from his cheeks, focused on finding the words that could be arranged into some semblance of order.

"Ah... Luffy? What did you say about Camie?"

Luffy's eyes widened as Zoro returned her to her previous train of thought.

"She's been kidnapped! C'mon get up! We have to go!"

Grasping one of Zoro's arms with her clean hand, Luffy hauled him to his feet, not giving him a moment to stabilise himself as she took off, dragging him behind her.

"Luffy! LUFFY! SLOW DOWN DAMN IT! WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOIN'!"

Zoro's reason brought Luffy to a screeching halt, a momentum which found Zoro lying on the ground for one time too many for a single day.

"Oi! Strawhat Girl!"

"Uh?"

Twisting her head wildly, Luffy searched for whoever was calling her, struggling to see anyone in the crowd they were surrounded by.

Screams filtered through the air as two members of the 'Flying-Fish Raiders' swooped down, forcing bystanders to leap out of the way.

Zoro and Luffy were pulled behind separate riders as the fish took to the sky once more.

Luffy let out a 'whoop' of excitement, flinging her arms up above her head like she was back on one of the theme park rollercoaster's.

Zoro shook his head at the immature actions of his Captain. He could believe the speed at which she could switch between serious to childish and back again without even realising it. He somehow doubted that it had anything to do with her fruit though; it was simply a 'Luffy thing'.

Luffy's excitement died down quickly as she frowned at the pace they were travelling at.

"Oi, Mister, can't you make this thing go any faster?"

Without waiting for a response, Luffy leaned forward wrapping her hand around the edge of the throttle and pushed it as far forward.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

The warning came too late as the flying fish plummeted into the roof of the auction house skidding along the top while Luffy crashed down to the floor below.

Zoro cringed as he watched the scene play out before him. He would get there when the fish damn well got there. Anyway, Luffy wouldn't need his help for the extra minute it would take him.

As the dust shrouded Luffy's figure, auctioneer Disco, squeaked out the result of the final item.

"S-s-sold?"

"Luffy! Camie's been–"

Nami's panic was quickly overridden by her Captain.

"CAMIE ISN'T FOR SALE."

Kidd and Law watched on quietly from their back row positions. Whilst the pair would never agree on anything in any normal circumstance, this one was an exception.

Things were just about to get interesting.

Kidd, who had just been about ready to blow the warped place, leant back on the wall. After all, Strawhat Luffy was the closest thing to rookie competition he had. Not to mention that her bounty was almost exclusively based on her disruption to the marines. He'd killed everyone that had looked at him in a way that had pissed him off, and in reality taking the lives of 'innocent citizens' wasn't exactly a hard thing to do.

Law had barely moved from his seat.

Strawhat Luffy.

300,000,000 Beli.

One of the two Supernova's that outranked him, and the only female that exceeded his own considerable bounty. Rumour had it that the girl was crazy. He couldn't wait to see if she would live up to the talk.

Luffy's figure remained stoic for a moment longer before she decided it was time to act.

Her shadowed appearance flickered before disappearing before the eyes of all those watching. Zoro, who had just walked in behind the rest of the crew, was the first to locate Luffy on the stage, one hand pressed against the glass cage.

Despite her fear Camie brought her hand up to the other side of the glass. She could sense what Luffy couldn't communicate verbally through the thick casing, she had to trust Luffy because she **would** be saved.

"STRAWHAT WAIT! THE COLLAR WE CAN'T–"

A shrill scream pierced the hall, as a woman recoiled in fear. Others shortly followed with Hachi looking around in surprise, until his eyes came to rest on his own six arms.

"A Fishman!"

"Somebody kill it!"

"I'm going to catch a disease!"

BANG!

The splatter of blood coated the stairs as Hachi stumbled forward, tumbling down and landing on his back.

Luffy's eyes hardened, her irises turning black.

'_If you get involved an admiral will come...'_

Admiral.

Admiral...

Screw it.

She jumped off the stage lightly before striding purposely up the stairs, her sandals 'clacking' with every step.

Making eye contact with her crew over the shoulder of the perpetrator, Celestial Dragon Carlos, Luffy ignored Hachi's desperate pleas as she gained affirmative nods from almost everyone.

Usopp couldn't tell if he had nodded or if he was just shaking out of fear. They were doomed. There was no way Luffy would stand by and not react. Whilst it was comforting to know that in another circumstance she'd do the same for him, right now all he could focus on was the admiral that would arrive.

"Strawhat don't!"

"Shut up you stupid Fishman! You're so noisy!"

The atmosphere darkened as Luffy tilted her head down, her eyes now shadowed by her namesake.

As Luffy appeared in front of 'Saint' Carlos, there was no time for any sounds of protest as her fist propelled into his chin, bursting his bubble and sending him crashing through multiple rows of seats.

Law leaned forward in his seat, his head resting on his clasped hands. The first time Strawhat had disappeared he thought it had been due to a trick of the light and the dust. The second time it had been clear that it was no illusion.

Interesting.

Kidd grinned manically at the sight before him. She was _definitely_ as crazy as the rumours.

Luffy, who had been breathing deeply trying to quell the raging anger that burned within her, turned back to face the cowering crowd.

"I said, CAMIE ISN'T FOR SALE!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm still working on the new summary so feel free to leave suggestions and thank you to everyone that gave me ideas last week :) See you all next week! <strong>

**To Guest: Mehme- Thank you for your review. It is a bit more interesting that way isn't it ;) Thank you also for your suggestion as I said I'm still working on it! **


	39. Rules are made to be broken

Leave: a period of time, usually two weeks, during which an individual could spend their time away from the stresses of revolutionary work.

Sabo thought the whole idea was ludicrous.

They were _revolutionaries _for Rodger's sake!

He was currently on 'leave'. The two weeks in which he was forced out of the base to 'de-stress' or just get out of Dragon's way –Sabo had never been entirely sure which was more likely.

Of course all the other revolutionaries (excluding Dragon), also had a break at some point during the year, with most members visiting family or visiting secluded island's where they could do everything they wanted to, including nothing.

_But what does a young 19 year old do on leave? _

_Causes as much chaos as possible –without getting caught._

The only rule Sabo was governed by during his time off was that under no circumstance was he to gain a bounty or notoriety.

In his mind, Sabo had managed to translate that to, do-whatever-the-hell-you-like-just-don't-get-caught.

Which is why Sabo found himself wandering the lawless zones of Sabaody.

Here, he was right under the marines' nose, and whilst Dragon may have raised his eyebrows at his choice, it was actually one of the safest places for him to cause trouble... he found it rather ironic really.

This year was going to be big.

The biggest.

Sabo had set his sights on the largest auction house.

Located on Archipelago One, this particular auction house was owned by Warlord Joker, who, in Sabo's opinion was a joke.

The Seven Warlords used to maintain balance.

Sabo snorted at the idea. It was more like the World Government's inability to actually shut them down. Not to mention –these days almost anyone could get a gig.

Sabo's thoughts shifted to Kuma, the revolutionaries very own 'Warlord'. There were many things that Sabo respected in Kuma, but the thing that he respected most was unbelievable commitment to play things out until he had no cards left.

His externally destructive nature was similarly self-destructive, and with the most recent reports that had been channelled through the underground network, it was clear to almost everyone that this would be Kuma's last mission.

At the thought of losing another of their team, Sabo felt a frown cross his face.

First Ivan to the pits of Impel Down, and now Kuma into a Government weapon.

He knew of the risks of this 'industry', they all did when they signed up, but that still didn't stop his underlying feelings of grief and anger.

People shouldn't have to be dying for this cause.

It shouldn't even be a cause, it should be reality.

Sabo was not naive. He knew that corruption would never completely be destroyed; too many people were driven by greed for that to happen.

But it was another thing to sit back and turn a blind eye to some of the things the government did: slave trade, corrupt marines, torture in prisons, and murder in the case of the Celestial Dragons.

It was wrong, so wrong.

Which was why Sabo found himself walking down the path to the auction house on Grove One. He would shut this place down so hard that no one would dare even think of rebuilding an auction house on the grove again.

He bounced on his toes slightly in excitement. He had everything planned to the nth degree. Every cause and effect. Every detail. Everything.

As he approached the grove screams of people echoed off the trees. Picking up his pace Sabo moved faster towards the auction house.

If there was one thing he hated as much as the Marines and the World Government, it was civilian deaths.

Sabo slowed as he came into contact with the first wave of people, bags of money clenched to their chests and crowns teetering on the edge of their heads.

"Run! The other way! We have to get out of here!"

At first Sabo stood confused, why did these people care about his safety?

The recognition coursed through his body as he understood the comments directed at him.

His clothes, despite their slightly tattered state and his lack of a shirt beneath his coat, gave off the impression that he was of high birth, that he was indeed one of them.

Deciding it was best to play along, Sabo jogged alongside the fleeing citizens.

"Why? What's going on?"

Not getting a direct answer, Sabo melded in with the crowd hoping to pick up on as much information as possible.

"An Admiral's coming!"

"Those rookies! This is all their fault!"

"They must have a death wish!"

"My God! A Celestial Dragon!"

By this stage Sabo had an inkling of what had happened, and carefully peeled away from the main stampede.

One of the eleven Supernovas on Sabaody, had done something to a Celestial Dragon and brought upon them the wrath of an Admiral.

'_What an idiot.'_

Sabo hesitated as a sweat drop appeared at the back of his head.

A supernova.

Angering a celestial dragon.

Gaining the wrath of an admiral.

Probably an idiot...

He groaned as his hands pushed his top hat down over his eyes.

The odds were one in eleven but in reality it was more likely one of one.

He looked wistfully over his shoulder before shaking his head. He wasn't to let anyone know who he was, or that he was alive.

If Luffy caught sight of him, she'd probably attract enough attention for him to be labelled a new Strawhat Pirate. That was the last thing he wanted.

Finding his way to an only some-what seedy bar, Sabo ordered himself a drink, in the hopes of distracting himself from the knowledge that his baby sister was, quite probably, in the closest proximity she'd been to him in about ten years.

His glass had only just been set down in front of him when a man burst through the bars swinging doors, almost being violently hit in the back.

"The Government's declared war on Whitebeard!"

The room was silent as the information processed through everyone's minds.

The guy didn't stop for long, as he rushed around the room shoving copies of the newspaper in people's arms before rushing back out the still swinging doors and back into the chaos outside.

People in the bar, that weren't too drunk to comprehend what was happening, rose in fear, their first reactions to get back to somewhere they thought to be safe.

Sabo didn't move from his chair.

Instead he took a long drink in the now almost empty bar. As the glass clinked against the wooden table, Sabo picked up the newspaper slowly, leaning back in his chair before starting to read.

'_THE GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUCED THAT THE EXECUTION OF FIRE-FIST ACE WILL OCCUR IN ONE WEEK!'_

Sabo placed the paper back down on the table and finished his drink, leaving his money on the table as he walked out the door.

During leave, under no circumstances, was anyone to undertake an activity that would lead to them gaining notoriety. That was the rule.

"Good thing rules are meant to be broken."

* * *

><p><strong>Noooooooooo! Somebody tell me it's not true! <strong>

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! **

**A huge thank you to anyone who reviewed/faved/followed over the past week I really appreciate it! Also, thank you to guest 'Radji' for your review.**


	40. Past and Present

"CAMIE ISN'T FOR SALE"

...

...

...

...

Luffy's shoulders heaved as she stood otherwise stoic.

The crowds had left the auction house leaving behind only a select few.

Law had yet to rise from his seat, despite the destruction around him, his crew following suit.

Kidd had moved slightly, decking a guard who thought it had been a good idea to attack him. Similarly, his crew had stuck close to him, only one darting outside to check on the situation before returning.

Of the three nobles present, the two males lay incapacitated, one intentionally, and one rather unintentionally by Usopp, who had ungraciously fallen and landed on top of one.

Camie, remained enclosed within the thick glass tank, her hand still desperately pressed against the glass.

She was horrified.

This was all her fault.

She'd never meant to bring this kind of trouble to her new friends...

"Duck!"

Time seemed to speed up as Luffy let herself fall backwards, one arm reaching out to the ground before pushing herself off and into a standing position once more.

"A LITTLE MORE WARNING MARIMO!"

Sanji's yells were brushed off by the Swordsman with a smirk.

"Captain managed to duck."

"Why you–"

Ignoring her squabbling boys, Luffy took a few steps down towards Camie, dodging a few guards easily.

"Com'on Camie, we have to get you out of here before the marines come."

Camie smiled broadly as her hands grasped the newly created opening in her tank.

_Maybe everything will work out_.

"Sorry to disappoint you Strawhat-ya, but the Marines are already here."

Luffy's smile dropped as she turned her gaze to the man who'd spoken.

"Who the hell are you?"

Robin couldn't help but smile at the bluntness of her Captain.

"Clutch. Luffy! He's Trafalgar Law, one of the other Supernovas. Up the back there is Eustass Kidd. He's the pirate with the 350,000,000 Beli bounty."

Law's eyes narrowed at Luffy as her attention was grabbed by his rival. His bounty may not be quite as impressive as Eustass-ya's but she should know better than to brush someone of his calibre to the side.

During Luffy's distraction the remaining Celestial Dragon, had managed to find herself a ladder –or in reality, had managed to find some idiot to find one for her– and smugly stood with her pistol pointing at Camie.

"You people are the slum of the earth. You need to learn your place."

Luffy didn't hesitate as she sprung of the steps, tackling the woman from her ladder, the pair crashing to the ground with Luffy on top.

A growl rippled from her mouth as Luffy closed the distance between them.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

Nami's brows furrowed in confusion. Never had she heard Luffy say something so... She couldn't even think of a way to describe it. Luffy'd never had an issue with people calling her names or degrading her.

There had to be more to it.

Nami's eyes sought out Zoro hoping for some reasoning to her Captain's out of character display. Perhaps before she joined the crew Zoro and Luffy had an altercation with another World Noble?

Zoro merely shrugged his shoulders in a 'don't ask me' manner before returning his attention to taking out as many guards as possible.

The shitty cook had already managed to get two up whilst he and Nami had been 'conversing', and he wasn't about to be beaten by a guy that fell in love with anything that had a pretty face.

Nami chose to focus once more on her Captain. If something hadn't happened when Zoro was around then it almost certainly must have happened at an early stage of Luffy's life.

Shaking her head, Nami put it to the back of her mind as she joined the fray once more.

She was more likely to start extracting Luffy's teeth before being able to find out anything from her past. She hadn't even known Luffy had a brother until he turned up on their doorstep –but she guessed that was just Luffy.

BANG!

THUD

The Noble's pistol smoked as her grip tightened on her weapon.

This wasn't her first kill and it wouldn't be her last.

_Serves the peasant right_.

The confident smirk vanished from her face as the gun was ripped from her hands and thrown into the head of an oncoming guard.

Luffy sat up straight and rotated her shoulders as one hand gently brushed over the area the bullet had entered.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! THAT COULD HAVE HIT ME!"

Kidd gazed at the bullet now lodged in one of the wooden rafters.

He may not have been the sharpest sword in the shop, that's what he had Killer for, but he couldn't help but be dumfounded that his closest rival was so... stupid... slow... moronic, and every other synonym ever invented.

Luffy paused in her attempt to beat the living daylights out of the Noble who had tried to shoot her as a wave of –something– washed over.

Luffy tilted her head in confusion, examining the newly unconscious woman she was currently sitting on. Using a solitary finger, Luffy poked the cheek of the Noble woman, curious as to why she would just pass out like that.

"What did you do?" Usopp screeched.

It was just like that incidence where Luffy psyched out the massive bull by talking to it.

Palms open Luffy's hands shot into the air.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!"

Luffy quickly resumed prodding the woman not paying attention to the old man and giant that had just appeared through the back wall of the stage.

"Hachi! What are you doing in a place like this?"

Luffy's attention was finally diverted, as Hachi revealed the old man to be Ray-san, the coater they had been searching for originally.

Luffy rose to her feet as the old man examined the room, releasing another wave of whatever it she had felt before.

Silence reigned over the theatre as the remaining guards collapsed.

Sanji frowned as he realised that Zoro had managed to finish in the lead of their game of 'take out the most guards'.

Luffy's thoughts however, remained transfixed on the old man.

"That Straw hats never had an owner quite like you Miss Monkey D. Luffy. I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

Luffy cocked her head in confusion.

Just what was the old man on about?

They were the ones that had been looking for him, and just how did he know who owned her hat before her?

Whilst Luffy was processing the questions floating around her head, Ray-san as Hachi had called him, stepped passed her, reaching towards Camie's exploding collar.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jii-san that thing will explode!"

"No don't do it!"

"What are you doing!?"

Luffy frowned at her crews and Pappagu's pleas. It was obvious that this guy knew what he was doing.

"Usopp, guys. Enough."

All the Strawhats that had wanted to say something stopped in their tracks as they watched on in trepidation.

Law however, was contemplating what he'd already witnessed.

Luffy-ya was strong, clearly, but she commandeered the respect from those around her, not always an easy thing to accomplish.

Especially considering she'd somehow gained the interest of the infamous Silvers Rayleigh.

Something he definitely believed could not be done by just anyone.

Luffy closed the gap between herself and the old man as he set the collar off.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

With a flick of his wrist the collar was flung behind them, exploding as it hit the stage.

Choppers eyes were glistening in admiration, "How did he do that!"

"It came off? Just like that? Damn I'd just found the keys. What a waste of time."

Franky was much less impressed as he looked at the keys in his hands with distaste.

Luffy carefully picked up the smouldering collar, twisting it over in her hands before refocusing on Rayleigh.

"I think I get it."

Rayleigh tossed his head back as a deep rumble of laughter was emitted from his chest.

"My, my, you're just as quick as the papers suggest!"

* * *

><p><strong>WOOT! CHAPTER 40! <strong>

**I really had no idea when I first started writing this story that I would ever make it to 40 chapters! Thank you to everyone who's stuck by me so far! Also, welcome to anyone who has recently faved/followed 'Expect the Unexpected'. ****Let me know what you thought of the chapter/what you think of the new summary- Better? Worse? Indifferent?**

**To guests-**  
><strong> Radji: Thank you for your review! He certainly is now ;)<strong>  
><strong>Mehme: Thank you for your suggestion for the summary. It definitely helped give me some ideas of my own!<strong>


	41. Women Woes

"Ugh."

Luffy sat up slowly as she tried to gain her bearings, her bones creaking in protest.

Where was she?

Her head swam in an uncomfortable state of confusion.

For a moment Luffy wished she could return to her earlier state of confusion as the truth slammed home like one of Sanji's kicks.

* * *

><p>"ZORO!"<p>

Luffy pushed at the ground trying to reach her first mate, all the while knowing that there was nothing she could do now that he was gone.

"BROOKE! USOPP!"

It was like he was predicting her every move. It didn't matter that she was pushing herself beyond a normal person's visual capabilities, he was always there just before her. Stealing her nakama.

"SANJI! FRANKY!"

Luffy's eyes widened as one by one her crew disappeared into nothingness.

Her breath caught in her chest as Nami mouthed a desperate 'help me', then like all the others was swiped into oblivion.

"ROBIN! RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!"

There was no point trying to make it to Robin first, the War Lord would know and appear there first. She would not give up her two remaining crew members, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

"Luffy! No! Don't!"

Robin's please were ignored as Luffy charged at Kuma with everything she had.

A cry slipped out of Luffy's lips as she was flung into the ground, her back arching in pain.

Taking less than a second, she pushed herself onto her feet, only to witness the destruction of her remaining crew.

"Robin? Chopper?"

The Strawhat Captain now stood battered and alone.

Injured.

Weak.

Unsure.

Her energy left her as quickly as her nakama had, leaving her to sink to her knees, panting harshly.

"Why?"

It was barely a whisper, yet Kuma paused at the question. He soon realised that the question was not for him but rather for Strawhat herself.

"Why couldn't I do anything?"

Clenching her teeth in a fit of anger, Luffy lashed out at Kuma, a final attempt to make him feel the pain he'd caused her.

"Goodbye Strawhat. We will not meet again."

* * *

><p>An anguished scream ripped itself from Luffy's chest as her body curled in on itself.<p>

Pirate King?

She was pretty sure the Pirate King had been able to take care of his own crew.

Red and green melded together as Luffy harshly buried her now bleeding fingertips into the grass, a desperate attempt to anchor herself to something real.

The minutes passed and eventually Luffy's breathing eased as she focused on her surroundings.

She let out a final shuddering breath before pushing herself off the ground.

This was just a once off. She'd train harder, train herself faster, and push the limits that only she had set herself.

Her doubts receded and her normal feelings of positivity came flooding back as she readied herself to start her solo adventure.

"Okay. I'm on a mystery island. Need to get back to Sabaody...get back!"

Luffy quickly plucked her namesake of her head sliding one finger underneath the ribbon to pull out the vivre card Rayleigh-san had given each of them prior to splitting up.

"Now all I gotta do is follow this back to everyone else!"

Watching the card wriggle along her palm Luffy smiled.

Her crew was strong.

Everyone would be able to get back, and if anyone couldn't she would go find them.

"Yosh. Here we go."

Bending her knees and placing one hand on the ground, as if she was in a running race, Luffy pushed off into a sprint, dodging shrubs and fallen trees, as well as those still standing.

Seeing a large cliff in front of her Luffy smirked as she pushed her body faster, quickly disappearing through the solid rock form.

Reappearing on the opposite side Luffy's toe caught on a stone, her arms swinging wildly in a futile attempt to catch herself.

Groaning, Luffy was secretly glad no one had been present to witness her loss to gravity.

Lying facing the sky, Luffy's stomach let out a gurgle. Her body's not-so-silent protest of having done so much work and fighting with so little food intake.

She knew she really needed food, but as she lay on the ground her body yearned for sleep, the two desires conflicting within her mind.

Eventually the lack of energy and need of sleep won out with Luffy closing her eyes in what she promised herself was just a quick nap.

* * *

><p>Luffy awoke for the second time that day in complete confusion about her location.<p>

She was sure she had fallen asleep in the forest, yet she was very clearly lying on a bed, her wounds unnecessarily bandaged and a horde of women peering at her through thick wooden bars.

Luffy's senses returned to her rapidly as she sprung out of the bed carefully watching all of the women.

Luffy didn't think she'd seen so many women of so many different appearances since that one time she found a magazine that Thatch had kept under his bed – they too had worn minimal clothing.

"Uh hi. Do you guys have a boat I could borrow?"

The women stepped back in shock, simultaneously drawing their bows.

"Oi! Oi! It was just a question!"

Luffy couldn't understand what she'd done wrong.

It wasn't like she asked for them to fix her up. The only thing she wanted to know was whether they had a boat.

_Maybe they're scared of water_, Luffy mused, her fingers distractedly playing with the lace at the bottom of her vest.

"Wait a minute! LACE! WHO PUT LACE ON MY VEST!? It's disgusting!"

"What a strange girl."

"Her clothes look so much better now."

"She's absolutely barbaric. Margaret, please understand that for your sake we can't let the Empress know that there was a stranger here. We have to remove her."

The blonde haired women, seemingly called Margaret, bobbed her head in acceptance.

"Wait a moment, remove?"

Luffy wasn't answered as a flurry of arrows charged towards her.

Reacting instantaneously, Luffy crashed through the roof to avoid them. She felt no need to be gentle when people were shooting arrows at her.

Not waiting around, Luffy raced towards the tips of the trees she could see at the edge of town.

"She's a fast one!"

Luffy screeched to a halt as her hand failed to find the vivre card that she'd placed in her pocket.

Bouncing on her toes, Luffy doubled back towards the pursuing women.

Locating the one called Margaret close to the front of the group, Luffy swooped in and threw her over her shoulder before darting back off to the forest.

The group fell behind as they watched Luffy drop over the cliff and into the forest.

At the sensation of falling Margaret release a frightened scream, not realising their pace had considerably dropped with Luffy 'sky walking' to the ground.

About a metre from the ground Luffy let them fall the remainder of the way, eliciting a squeak from her unwilling passenger.

"I think they went this way!"

The raised voices travelled down over the top of the cliff, pushing Luffy to run deeper into the forest.

Coming to a halt as she reached the ocean, Luffy unceremoniously dumped Margaret from her shoulder, a dull 'thud' echoing off the trees.

"Look, I don't know what your guys' problem is but there was a piece of paper in my shorts. I really need it back."

Margaret's glare vanished as she looked into the pleading puppy-dog eyes of Luffy.

"You mean this?"

The piece of paper was gone from Margaret's grip before she could even comprehend what had happened.

"YAY!"

Luffy hugged it to her chest as she jumped up and down.

"Thank you so much! I'd be so lost without this."

"You are a strange woman. I've never met someone like you."

Luffy tilted her head as she absorbed what she was told.

"Uh really? Maybe you need to get out more often. The world's full of interesting people. I'm Luffy by the way, nice to meet you."

A sweat drop formed on the back of Margaret's head as she watched Luffy. First the girl had been found in tatters, escaped their prison, kidnapped her, and then introduced herself after being hyped up over a piece of paper.

Suffice to say Margaret did not understand this woman at all.

She didn't even like lace!

Luffy's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had yet to find anything to eat.

In a stroke of amazingly good luck, an unsuspecting pig wandered out from beneath bushes, oblivious to the salivating mouth of one hungry speedster.

"What are you–"

Margaret's question was answered when one roasted pig later Luffy sat contentedly with a full stomach quickly shrinking to its normal size.

She had _never _seen anyone like this woman.

The women of Amazon Lilly could definitely eat a lot at big celebration, but never did their stomachs go back to their normal size as quickly.

Arrows whizzed through the bushes landing between Luffy's legs as shouts of the warriors became increasingly closer.

"What the hell?! Please, all I want is to get back to my Nakama. Is there a boat I could borrow?"

Margaret shook her head sadly.

"The only boat on the island belongs to the Pirate Empress."

"What?! Ah, shit!"

Luffy dodged another arrow before sprinting off. Margaret was no use to her now she knew that there were no boats nearby.

Luffy soon made it back to the village, leaving the group of women on a wild Monkey chase, and headed for the largest building.

Luffy had once asked Thatch why he lived in such a big house by himself, his answer being, important people live in big houses.

Ace and Sabo had laughed, so Luffy presumed it must have been a joke. Or was it that the house really wasn't that big? After all, the three of them had shared one bedroom whilst Thatch occupied the other.

Luffy paused to grip her head.

All this thinking was making her head hurt.

Shaking it off, she decided that when in doubt, it was best to follow what she knew.

Looking over the expansive building, decorated in snake symbols, Luffy smiled.

"Guess I'll give it a try. Shishi I hope the Empress is nice!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, so thank you again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, or added 'Expect the Unexpected' to your favsfollow. Pre-warning that the next chapter will probably not be ready until two weeks time. I have a huge number of assignments to do (which I already should have started but have been writing this instead...). I hope you enjoyed!**

**To the guest who reviewed last chapter: Thank you! And I totally agree, although I can kind of understand as Luffy's not normally one to hold grudges... although with World nobles I definitely think there could have been an exception.**


	42. Behind the Beauty

"What the hell is going on?"

Luffy couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Margaret and her two friends that had jumped to her defence had been turned to stone.

In any 'normal' situation, Luffy knew that there would be protest. This was not how a captain was supposed to treat their crew. It wasn't how you were supposed to treat anyone unless it was defensive.

Yes, she and Usopp had fought once, but he apologised and she forgave, because that's what nakama did.

They looked out for one another.

Yet here they were, hundreds of crew and warriors sitting around laughing whilst their nakama had been turned to stone.

If anyone in Luffy's crew had laughed when Robin had been turned to ice... No. She didn't even have to think about it. She knew her crew and she knew that they would NEVER do something as despicable as this.

In her state of disgust, Luffy missed the introduction of Bacura, a giant panther that had started its 'hunt'.

It quickly drew her attention, snarling and baring her teeth, and in an extreme fit of anger Luffy bared her own back.

Before its great paw could swipe at Luffy, she had already disappeared behind it.

Plucking its tail off the ground Luffy used the appendage to swing Bacura around her head, releasing the animal into the stands as the dizziness began to set in.

The crowd scrambled to move out of the way with only milliseconds to spare, those that hadn't been nearby gaped in shock.

Was she purely using brute strength?

The Amazonia warriors had never seen anything like it. She hadn't even been using haki!

Luffy meanwhile hadn't even raised a sweat. In comparison to the animals that she had hunted back home with her family, Bacura could only be considered a big kitten.

However the disposal of the animal had only heightened the anger coursing through Luffy's body.

These people were wasting her time.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN TURNED TO STONE AND YOU DON'T EVEN CARE!"

Her shoulders heaved.

Yelling at them hadn't served to release any of the pent up anger, anger which was made worse by the shouts that rang out from the crowds.

"They deserved it!"

"It was their own fault!"

The calls continued until an overriding voice stopped them.

"Silence! I will always be forgiven."

The Pirate Empress smirked as she switched her legs, crossing her right over her left before continuing.

"For I am beautiful."

The crowd melted with hearts in their eyes and Luffy didn't doubt that if Sanji where present he'd think he had died and gone to heaven, but she didn't see it.

"You're a really ugly person."

Shock seemed to be the general feeling as the crowd sat in a stumped silence.

Boa Hancock was stunned.

Luffy looked confused as she watched the Empress. It was as if this was the first time she'd been told this (which unbeknownst to Luffy it was).

Hancock's arms were shaking violently as they moved to touch her face.

"I- I- I-"

"Sister, please ignore her. She's lying through her teeth can't you see it?"

Her head shook slowly. She may ignore many things, or choose to see them the way she wanted, but staring into the intruders eyes she knew that there had been no lie.

A tear rolled its way done her perfect cheek.

Her tears sparked the crowd back into reality, the majority calling for Luffy's execution.

Marigold and Sandersonia, moved closer to their sister desperately trying to placate her.

"Don't worry sister we will destroy her for you."

Hancock couldn't find her voice to respond to her sisters' declaration, a steady flow of tears still streaming down her face.

Glaring at Luffy, the two youngest Boa sisters leapt down from Hancock's side, their blood boiling for the kill.

* * *

><p>Luffy took half a step back in order to be able to fully see both of the gigantic women.<p>

There was no way they weren't devil fruit users.

It didn't matter what they had started out as, snake or human, they contained too many features of the opposite creature for them to be anything but.

With the two this close, Luffy also became increasingly aware of the limited space she'd have to freely move around and fight.

"Apologise and we might give you a painless death."

Marigold snickered at her sisters words.

"Sandersonia really means– we might give you a slightly less drawn out death, if you apologise to our sister this instant."

"Why should I?"

The question was treated as rhetorical as the two snake hybrids hissed angrily.

Marigold was the first to launch an attack.

Swinging her long handled axe wildly, she allowed her anger to rule her actions.

Luffy however rotated her body left and right just enough to miss the swings. It was only until one swipe was aimed at her midsection that she let herself roll out of the way.

Staying close to the ground Luffy weaved her way inside Marigold's comfortable range, striking the large open expanse of stomach.

Luffy's eyes widened as her arm ricocheted off the scales, her body being un-forgivingly dragged behind it.

"Owww!"

Luffy rubbed the back of head where it had collided with the wooden fence.

Looking at the unstable structure, Luffy was actually quite impressed she hadn't gone through it.

Her relief was cut short as she soon found herself dangling upside down, her ankle gripped tightly in Sandersonia's curled tail.

"Eeep!"

Luffy, lifted her body closer to her ankle as Marigold released a purple splodge of poison in her direction.

Watching the puddle steam as it melted the concrete Luffy couldn't help but pale slightly.

"Hey now! That's really dangerous!"

Luffy was lifted higher so as she was face to face with Sandersonia.

"I don't think you understand what situation you're in. This is an execution. Not a spar."

Luffy frowned in confusion.

"I'm not going to execute anyone."

Sandersonia sighed. It was pointless trying to get the message through.

Her tail clenched around Luffy's ankle forcing a grunt out of the speedsters mouth.

Vibrations quickly overtook Luffy's body as she heated her ankle up to an almost intolerable level.

"Na-ah. Hardening."

Luffy's confusion doubled as her heat failed to distracted the sister or cause her any pain.

Instead the tail flung her over the edge of the stadium, hurtling her towards the sharpened pikes in the trench below.

Millimetres from the spikes, Luffy took off in a 'sky-run' working her way up above the arena.

"She's flying!"

"She's not flying you idiot!"

The crowd watched intently. Whilst some of the warriors had seen this skill before, there were none on the island that actually possessed the ability.

Luffy smirked as she let herself fall from the sky her speed increasing exponentially as she neared Marigold.

This time the connection was more like what Luffy had anticipated, with debris flying into the air as Marigold skidded along the ground.

Her victory was short lived as Margaret was swept up into Sandersonia's grip, commanding all her focus.

Luffy hesitated.

Her hesitation was just enough to find herself entrapped for a second time within a tail prison.

Luffy struggled but it was no use.

_Damnit! Hadn't she just sworn that she would never let her friends be taken from her again?_

"She didn't do anything! Just let her go!"

Luffy's words were ignored as Margaret was tossed up in the air as if she was made of rubber.

'That would be a really weird ability.'

Her wandering thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as Margaret was caught roughly before being thrown back towards the sky.

Panic encased Luffy, she had to do something, and she had to do it fast.

_Rayleigh–_

Bowing her head she closed her eyes as she centred herself.

She could do it.

She knew she could.

In a rapid movement Luffy brought her head back up.

"STOP IT!"

Hey eyes expanded slightly as she felt the rush that washed over back at the auction house.

This time coming from her.

_Ah. So that **was** how he did it._

Screams soon filled the stands as women slumped over in their seats completely unconscious.

The two sisters stared in disbelief.

The girl in front of them was so small, so weak, yet she commanded a power so rarely seen.

Conquers Haki.

In a state of slight bewilderment the sisters gently retracted their tails with Luffy and Margaret being returned safely to the ground.

Luffy rushed to Margaret's side, checking her closely for any damage that could be permanent.

Finding nothing life threatening, Luffy leant back on her heals. She was amazed that she'd managed to copy Rayleigh-san but she could definitely feel the after effects taking hold on her body.

Marigold and Sandersonia managed to snap themselves out of the trance they had been in, readying themselves to go in for another attack.

This time they wouldn't hold back.

This time they would avenge their sister.

This time–

"Enough."

Their brows creased as they watched their beautiful sister make her way gracefully down the steps.

The Empress didn't falter in her actions until she came to stand directly in front of Luffy.

"I have decided."

The women in the stands, who were still conscious, moved closer to the edge of their seats as the listened for the verdict, which they did not doubt would be death.

"You are a strong warrior, a truly honest woman and hence forth... you shall be my little sister!"

Luffy barely even blinked before she found herself ensnared in a crushing hug, the cries of the warriors resounding across the island.

"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Cue evil laugh... mwhahaha... So some have may have seen this coming, if you did I apologise...<br>The next two weeks are going to be my doom so please be patient with me.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter/faved/followed it means a lot to me to know that you're enjoying Expect. As always I love to hear what you think so feel free to let me know if liked it or even if you didn't like it.**

**Till the next chapter!**


	43. Turning Tides

'Where the hell is he?'

Sabo's patience was quickly running out.

With the right level of persuasion he'd managed to locate the Whitebeard Pirates at Fishman Island, and with no small amount of gold, been able to hitch a ride down to the world's deepest inhabited location.

Whilst the first part of the process had been completed faster than expected, finding Thatch had proved fifty times more difficult than he had previously anticipated.

It was bordering on the point of ridiculousness.

Originally, Sabo had thought that Thatch had holed himself away, planning for Ace's rescue.

It was a thought that had been discarded upon sightings of each of the other commanders, including the Whitebeard Pirates first mate.

From Sabo's current position, he had an unobstructed view of Whitebeard and Marco who happened to be standing beside the old man's seat.

The shadows acted as his cover as he leant against the wall of a building.

Hazel eyes shifted slightly to glance at top-hat wearing figure before retuning to be facing straight ahead.

"Mmm... that brat's been watching us for some time now."

"He's been following some of the boys in town too. His staff's seastone."

Despite the lazy tone of Marco's voice, both his and Pop's voices carried just far enough for Sabo to establish, that his stealth skills which were more than adequate for marines, perhaps needed more work.

'We're running out of time'

Shifting his grip on his staff, Sabo made his way out of the shadows and into the street, heading directly for the _Moby Dick_.

Their words were closest thing he would get to a summons, so he may as well stop wasting time.

His steps were taken with purpose, and despite his head being tilted down so his hat blocked his eyes, he gave off an air of confidence.

The crew members that were on deck stopped to watch the stranger, but they made no move to stop him as he boarded their home.

Pop's or Marco would have directed them to attack if he was a threat, but they knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jozu, who had been at the other end of the _Moby Dick_ made his way closer to the stranger, preparing for a fight if need be. At least it helped get rid of some of his restlessness.

Sabo knelt on one knee as he positioned himself directly in front of Whitebeard.

Seconds passed and nothing was said.

Sabo glanced up slightly catching the gaze of the huge man, who Sabo couldn't deny made him rather uneasy.

Nothing was said though, so Sabo took it as an invitation to speak.

"I'm looking for Thatch."

The reaction had not been at all expected.

It was almost as if Thatch's name was taboo.

Some men looked away, whilst others glared, drawing their weapons.

Jozu was one of the latter, his fist hardening over in diamond.

Marco's eyes widened slightly at the request before resuming their half lidded state.

"He ain't here-yoi."

At this Sabo's eyes snapped to those of the Whitebeard's first mate.

_What?_

"What do you mean he's not here? Where the bloody hell is he then?"

Jozu took a step forward at the young man's outburst. He had no right to question them like that.

He hesitated on his second step as Pop's spoke

"Why would a brat like you be interested in Thatch."

Rearing in his anger, Sabo's gaze switched back to that of the Captain's.

He wasn't here to be angry.

From what he'd heard of the Whitebeard pirates, they were a family, which meant all of them were Ace's and Thatch's family, and consequently his own.

But time was running out.

Ace was clearly in more trouble than he could deal with. He'd expected to find Thatch, and hash out some kind of plan to get Ace out of said trouble. Not spend countless hours stalking nameless Whitebeard Pirates in the hopes of finding his dad.

"My name is Sabo, Thatch is my Dad."

The crew members that had raised their weapons dropped them in surprise, their mouths hitting the floor in shock.

Whitebeard just sighed, desperately trying to grasp why his crew had to act like a bunch of morons every time something they didn't expect happened.

He loved his sons to pieces but really?

Vista, who had been quietly sharpening his swords whilst watching the scene unfold, decided to interrupt.

"And why should we believe you mmm?"

Marco meanwhile studied Sabo closely, memories of a previous conversation drifting back to him.

* * *

><p>"<em>He's gone."<em>

The sound of the father and son duo, beckoned Marco closer. He wouldn't deny that the thought of Thatch as a father intrigued him immensely.

"_Ace, what happened?"_

"_He got...He was blown out of the water...by nobles...a celestial dragon...Dogra saw it all, Luffy and I weren't there." _

Marco's eyes widened at the kid's confession. He had no idea who they were talking about, but if the stiffening of Thatch's shoulders were anything to go by, it was definitely someone dear to them.

All plans of walking into their conversation quickly disappeared as Marco headed back inside and down to his cabin.

The more Marco thought – something Thatch would claim to be a dangerous activity – the easier it became to deduce just who the 'he' was.

Thatch made it no secret that he had three brats, although he may have used a different term for them. Two boys and a girl. The man could barely go a day without mentioning at least one of his children, if not all of them.

The world was a cruel place to steal away the life of a child so young.

Marco sighed.

He'd never been one for comforting others, and he definitely had no children of his own to relate to the feelings Thatch would be experiencing.

He wouldn't say anything. He'd keep this information to himself, Thatch didn't like or need to be coddled.

So Marco would leave it be.

* * *

><p>At the realisation that this was in fact Thatch's eldest son, Marco quickly shut down Vista's interrogation.<p>

"He's inside. Follow me."

Sabo remained stoic, almost a perfect imitation of a statue.

"Why can't he come out here?"

His eyes flickered to the faces of the surrounding crew members, flashes of pain and anger decorating the majority of their faces.

No answer came.

Sabo maintained an expressionless facade, but inside his mind was reeling.

Something was wrong.

More wrong then the fact that Ace was in prison.

Thatch was a unique individual. Someone who always had a story that would leave even the most saddened hearts laughing on the floor.

Pain.

Anger.

Hurt.

Sadness.

These weren't words associated with Thatch, but they were the reactions of each of the crew.

Marco swallowed harshly as the images that had forever been burned into his mind flashed behind his eyelids.

"He's inside. Are you coming?"

Sabo rose to his feet, eyeing the crew members carefully, each one avoiding his gaze.

Jozu followed after Marco and Sabo closely.

He didn't care if this guy claimed to be Thatch's eldest son, there was no way he was going to let such an explosive temper near Thatch.

Not without protection.

The three paused outside a closed door.

Marco's hand rested on the handle before pushing it open and making his way in.

Sabo followed behind, acutely aware of the larger man's presence behind him.

It was a presence that was quickly forgotten as he took in the sight before him.

"Dad?"

* * *

><p><strong>I know a few people had different expectations for this chapter compared to what it actually was, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same :)<strong>

**I also hope that you guys didn't mind that this chapter was maybe a little darker than previous chapters and a****s always thank you to all the people who reviewed/faved/followed!**


	44. Prison Break

"IVAN-SAMA! IVAN-SAMA!"

The okama paused briefly as they heaved air into their lungs.

"I found these two just outside the front. One of them seems to have crossed Megdalen."

Luffy's vision was hazy as a large headed man came into focus. Her energy was spent. There had been so much poison that even with her speed she hadn't been able to escape the torrents that flooded over her.

She had to protect Bon-chan.

Without him she would never have come this far, these people would help him even if it cost Luffy her life.

With a shaky arm and two failed attempts, Luffy's hand managed to latch itself to the man.

Ivan stood still as he watched the girl struggling at his feet. It wasn't that he was an unnecessarily cruel individual but his thoughts were preoccupied with the small straw hat that the girl possessed.

Hat.

Strawhat.

Strawhat Luffy?

Ivan's eyes widened, surely it couldn't be?

"Vhat is your name girl?"

"Luffy! Please you've got to save him, it's my fault he's hurt, PLEASE!"

Ivan fell from Luffy's reach as he stumbled back in shock.

He had no doubt.

It was her.

She was everything she'd ever been described to be from her physical appearance to her personality.

"Monkey D. Luffy. Daughter of Revolutionary Dragon."

"Please, I'm begging you!"

"There is no need to beg darling. Bon-chan will be taken care of."

With a wave of his hand subordinates rushed to cart Bon-chan off for instant medical assistance.

Luffy smiled as she watched them take him away.

"Thank you."

Relief coursed through her body, and with the knowledge that Bon-chan was safe, Luffy let herself slip into unconsciousness.

"You are just like your father."

Ivan bent down to brush some strands of hair out of her face before scoping her lightly into his arms.

"I vould never forgive myself if I let something bad happen to you."

* * *

><p>Strapped to a table, Ivan's hormones raced through Luffy's body uncontrollably.<p>

Her only chance at surviving the effects of Megdalen's poison.

"It'll take two days, for the full effects to take place, if you survive. I'm afraid your survival rate is entirely dependent on you, and your ability to survive. Good luck Straw-chan."

The words echoed in her mind like a persistent drip that wouldn't stop.

Two days.

Two days.

Two days.

She didn't have two days, and neither did Ace.

She had to survive.

She could not fail – she would not fail.

Not now.

Not again.

* * *

><p>Hell.<p>

The place people went to after death if they didn't eat the disgusting things called vegetables... At least that is was Thatch had always said hell was for.

Ace often said that it was a place for bad people, the people who had done bad stuff to others.

Sabo had said not to believe either of them. That nothing would happen to warrant Luffy going to a place as scary as what the others had described.

However, all of them had agreed that no one went there until after death.

Luffy didn't care much for the reasons on how one got there, what she did care about was how she had managed to end up there when she was very much alive.

Pain.

The searing heat that circulated in her body was reaching unbearable levels, even to her standards.

The screams ripped through her mouth, despite her deepest protests. For all the times she'd experienced pain, she now knew they were a lie.

They weren't true pain.

Nothing could ever compare to the suffering her body was being forced to endure now.

* * *

><p>Another gut retching scream echoed through the thick door.<p>

Then all that was heard from outside was silence.

No one moved as the air fell stagnate around them.

Bon-chan quivered in fear.

It was all over, Luffy hadn't had the strength to carry on through the immense pain and suffering. He sniffled loudly as he tried to stop himself from breaking down.

Ivan stood next to him, watching the flow of blood seeping out from under the door.

His lips tugged down on either side.

He had been surer than any other time he'd performed this 'surgery' that Luffy-chan would be a survivor.

If her father was anything to go by, her survival rate should have been closer to twenty even thirty percent compared to the normal two to three. However, to survive only twelve hours of the needed 48 was not unusual for weak willed patients.

BANG!

...

...

...

BANG!

...

...

BANG!

"FOOOOOOOD!"

Bon-chan's face lit up like the sky on New Year's Eve.

"STRAW-CHAN!"

Ivan shook his head as he stepped away from the door.

Impossible.

Only once had someone come close to completing the treatment in half the required time.

Dragon had taken twenty-seven hours to heal after foolishly attempting to raid a Marine Base on his own, back when they had just started out as Revolutionaries.

But this?

This was a quarter of the necessary time.

It just wasn't possible.

The demand for food rang out a second time, proving that he wasn't in a dream, Straw-chan had really defied everything he'd ever known.

His surprise didn't take long to fade.

A smirk crossed his lips as he turned to focus on his surrounding okamas.

"Vell? You heard the girl. Bring food!"

* * *

><p>"Ivan, I have to go. I can't let Ace die! I know you've already helped me so much but please! Could you look after Bon-chan until I get back with Ace!"<p>

Ivan arched one of his perfectly manicured eyebrows.

His eyes swept over his 'candies', those that had willingly –and some not so willingly– come to him for protection, shelter, and guidance.

He could not provide that for them any longer.

"Prepare for VVAR! Ve vill be helping Straw-chan rescue Ace!"

Roars sounded as the okama scrambled around to organise weapons and food supply for their new adventure.

"Ivan? But I don't understand?"

"Vmmm... Darling. I could never again look your family in the eye if I let anything happen to you or Ace-chan. I vould simply be a disgrace."

Luffy didn't press any further as she watched Ace's vivre card wriggle along her palm, smouldering slowly as his life force diminished.

Closing her hand to encompass the paper, Luffy's gaze hardened in determination.

"YOSH! LET'S GO!"

Leading slightly in front of Ivan, Luffy charged towards her final decent into Level 6.

'_Ace. Please wait for me. I'm coming to save you. Just hold on a little longer_.'

Ivan herded Luffy towards the steps, both of them leaping down the stairs, two, three, and even four at a time.

Luffy's mind was completely possessed by thoughts of Ace, with no thoughts being spared to the potential danger she could be throwing herself into.

"This one."

Skidding to a halt outside the cage Ivan claimed to be Ace's, Luffy's eyes quickly searched for him.

"Why isn't he here?"

Panic consumed Luffy as her eyes scanned the Ace-less cage.

The tired creak of the elevator grabbed Luffy's full attention, slipper-covered feet barely visible through the thick bars of the rising elevator.

Running at full speed Luffy launched herself at the elevator, her hand grasping the bottom of the bar.

Almost as quickly as Luffy had made the elevator, she found herself plummeting back to the stone floor, unable to maintain a hold on the bar.

_Seastone._

Luffy barely registered her position on the floor.

He had been right there, only metres in front of her and she hadn't been fast enough.

Pushing herself to her feet, Luffy looked up frantically at the increasing chasm that separated her from her brother.

"ACE!"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so sorry that this is late, I had some confusion with my Beta, I thought I'd sent her the chapter but it hadn't sent properly, so I was sitting around waiting for it to come back when she had never had in the first place -.-' I<strong>**t won't happen again! **

**T****hank you to all those that have faved/followed/reviewed it really makes my day :) **

**Our next stop... Marineford! Gah! So excited. Oh, I also have to give you all a warning which is pretty important: THE EVENTS THAT OCCUR AT MARINEFORD WILL NOT NECESSARILY FOLLOW ODA'S FLOW OF EVENTS! **

**Possibly obvious, but speed demons do things slightly differently... Til next time!**


	45. Father Figure

"My father? MY FATHER IS THATCH!"

The surrounding Marines blinked in confusion.

Was Sengoku feeling okay?

_Everyone_ knew that the Commander of the Fourth Division, Thatch, was Ace's father. It was never a secret that the Whitebeard Pirates had tried to hide.

In fact, it came to a point where Marines were avoiding the Fourth Division and its Commander completely, out of fear that as a part of their 'punishment' for attacking a Whitebeard ship, they'd have to endure another boasting session about Ace's latest triumphs in taking out marine vessels.

Not to mention the amount of times the father-son duo had destroyed Marine ships or been reported to have taken down another pirate ship. These events, under no circumstances, were considered rare or unusual.

So why would their leader ask him something that everyone knew?

Garp tilted his head down in an attempt to mask his slight smirk at his "grandson's" response.

There was nothing he could do to help him now. If that was the family line he had chosen, then that was Ace's choice, not his...

His smirk faded quickly as he thought on what was to come.

Hadn't he promised Rodger that he would ensure the child would live a life free from the Pirate King's sins?

_I'm sorry my old friend. Perhaps you should have chosen someone else from the start._

Closing his eyes, Garp desperately tried to refocus his mind to suit that of a Vice-Admiral.

Pirates are evil – just not Ace and Luffy.

Pirates are bad – Ace is misunderstood.

Pirates are the enemy – he's practically my grandson.

I protect innocent people – he **is** innocent.

Frustrated, Garp ran a hand through is grey hair, something he attributed largely to his family and not to his ever-increasing age.

_I'm a marine. A marine. A MARINE God damnit!_

Meanwhile, Sengoku's eyes twitched as Kizaru eyed him from below, Aokiji and Akainu remaining unmoved despite their growing concern in where Sengoku was heading.

"We'll try this again, Fire Fist. Who is your father?"

"WHITEBEARD!"

Sengoku growled at the defiance the young man insisted on continuing until what would soon be his demise.

"Don't lie. Answer the question!"

Ace's eyes narrowed but he made no comment. He had answered the question. He knew who his family was and it wasn't _that_ man.

His silence launched Sengoku into a lengthy spiel, each word making him cringe further, his body drawing in on itself.

He wasn't _him_.

Blood isn't what defined him. Sengoku didn't have to make such a big deal over it. The man was dead. His life wasn't going to change that.

He knew as much about One Piece as the next person, less if he was standing next to Rayleigh.

It shouldn't matter.

Sengoku paused, before reaching what would be the final crux of what he was attempting to reveal.

Ace hung his head lower. He would give anything not to hear this. Why for pity's sake did he have to draw it out so much?

The pause lasted.

And lasted.

And lasted.

Ace's brows furrowed in confusion.

He knew Sengoku was all for the dramatic pauses but surely this was a bit too much.

Letting his eyes glance at Sengoku, Ace realised that something was definitely not going to the Fleet Admirals plan. Sengoku looked just about ready to crush the poor transponder snail sitting in his palm to a million tiny pieces.

Raising his head slightly, he looked out to try and locate what could possibly have grabbed everyone's attention enough to make the experienced Marine stop talking.

His answer came from a single Marine warship sailing directly into the harbour.

Ace was completely perplexed.

Why were they breaking formation like that? He may not be a Marine but Garp had put him through enough training to realise that a war vessel should not be moving prior to the arrival of their opponents.

The ship came to a halt in the centre of the bay.

The gentle 'clip-clop' of shoes hitting the deck echoed loudly in the Marine's ears as if it had been magnified a hundred times by a speaker snail.

Slowly, a figure stopped at the prow of the boat.

Ace's eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates as the figure became recognisable to him.

"Oh, God. No. Please no."

The silence reigned a moment longer as Luffy took in her surroundings, her eyes narrowing as they settled on the kneeling figure on the execution block.

"LET. MY. BROTHER. GO!"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my goodness! I cannot tell you how excited I am that Luffy is finally at Marineford! YAY! Hehe... Time for Sengoku to go on a tropical holiday to calm his nerves... <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :) and t****hank you to everyone who reviewed!**


	46. Compiled Chaos

"LET. MY. BROTHER. GO!"

...

...

...

A panic stricken Buggy clambered up to stand next to Luffy on the prow.

"Oi, oi, Strawhat! Why did you yell that?"

Luffy didn't turn to look at him, her eyes still focused on the man awaiting his death.

"I didn't know what else to say."

Buggy fell backwards. How had this girl managed to beat him?

Sengoku's eye twitched at the unexpected interruption. This was not how he had expected the day to pan out. Jutting his jaw out Sengoku went to announce the truth the world needed to hear.

"Portgas D. Ace's real name is–"

"They're here!"

A soldier's cry diverted everyone's attention to the rapidly increasing number of Whitebeard Allies on the horizon.

Sengoku's shoulders tensed in agitation, he would not be interrupted again, "Ace's father is–"

Luffy ignored the Fleet Admiral as she turned to Jinbei, her forehead creased in concentration.

"Do you hear that?"

Moving to the left edge of the ship Luffy leant over hazardously, her legs up in the air as she tried to see what was causing the strange noise.

A shadow appeared in the depths of the bay.

Luffy jumped away from the railing as a spurt of water washed over the deck, drenching her in seawater.

"Ugh, yuck!"

Jinbei merely shook his head as he watched the young girl flail her limbs wildly. She must have been the furthest thing from Ace in terms of personality in a serious situation.

Jinbei felt a sweat drop form at the back of his head. She may have been the opposite of a serious Ace, but she was pretty damn close to being an exact replica of a reckless Ace.

At this thought, Jinbei sighed.

It was going to be a task and a half to keep her safe.

Luffy looked up in awe at the mammoth ships that surrounded them on all four sides.

Glancing at the minimal space between their hijacked warship and the other boats, Luffy let out a chuckle.

"Shishi, that was really close! We could've been hit!"

Buggy screeched at an unmanly pitch before hitting her on the upside of the head.

"Don't take this so lightly!"

Luffy pouted whilst rubbing the back of her head.

"No need to be so violent."

A booming voice rang out putting a hold on the squabbling pair's argument.

"Ace had better be alright Sengoku."

Luffy's head tilted at the sound of the new voice. Who were these guys? Luffy was going to rescue Ace herself. She didn't need any help.

"My, my. That must be Vhitebeard."

Luffy's head straightened at Ivan's explanation. She didn't need help but it was good to know that Ace's nakama had come to help him out as well. A grin spread across her face as a new plan formulated in her mind.

Ivan paused as he blinked looking right and then left.

"Vhere did Straw-chan go?"

Luffy wandered aimlessly through the massive halls of the _Moby Dick_.

She hadn't meant to come inside. The original plan had been to land up on the main deck but when the edge of the boat was higher than she'd anticipated, she decided it was easier to just go through the wooden layering and find another way to the front.

Luffy paused every few metres to randomly open and close doors that lead to unnameable rooms that lined the hallway.

Trailing her hand along the wall in between doors, Luffy stumbled as a huge shudder rocked the boat.

Shrugging the movement off, Luffy continued her exploration of the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, seemingly forgetting the battle raging on outside.

Coming to a door with a red cross decorating its facade, Luffy started to open door but as a clinical smell assaulted her nose, she returned it to its shut position.

Another tremor rocked the boat, stronger than the last.

As if finally remembering her purpose for being on board, Luffy chose to take a short cut to the deck, jumping up through the floorboards until her senses became exposed to the sounds of clashing metal and gun fire.

With a channelled gaze, Luffy's eyes were drawn to the expanse of ice that covered what had been water only minutes earlier.

"That wasn't there before."

"Neither were you, brat."

Her surprise moulded into attentiveness, as the particles of Crocodile formed behind the huge man.

Luffy didn't think.

Moving with her instinct she knocked her former enemy – turned ally – turned enemy again, out of his intended direction.

Positioning herself between the old man and Crocodile, she raised her fist with every idea to stop the ex-warlord if he attempted to attack a second time.

Rolling his eyes at the young girls' actions, Crocodile stepped down.

She'd freed him from prison and whilst she may have been the reason he'd been there in the first place, there was nothing that had forced her to let him out. He owed her.

If there was one thing he hated, it was owing people.

Seeing the resignation in his stance, Luffy returned to her conversation with Whitebeard.

"I was here first."

Jinbei who had followed Ivan and Buggy up onto the main deck, sighed at the childishness of the girl. She was undoubtedly going to put a hefty strain on his mental capacity.

Deciding he may as well inform Luffy and Whitebeard together of what they'd learnt, Jinbei relayed the news.

"They just announced the commencement of Ace's execution."

"WHAT?! They can't do that! I need more time"

Luffy's head snapped towards the direction of the execution block. She may have been fast, but there was still a long distance to cross to get to Ace, and she doubted that the marines wouldn't at least _try_ to stop her.

"What you really need is to leave brat. You have no place here."

A growl rumbled in her throat. No one had the right to tell her what to do. No one.

"I can do whatever the hell I like! **I'm** going to save Ace."

Ivan and Buggy raised their hands in a surrender position, both terrified at thought of what Whitebeard would do to someone with that level of disrespect.

They didn't find out as the speedster launched herself off the side of the _Moby Dick_ and into the fray below.

Ace watched frozen as one by one comrades and nakama fell.

Why did Pop's insist on taking the fall?

It was his fault.

No one else deserved to share his fate.

Ace's muscles constricted as his eyes fell on the one person he wished more than anything was a hallucination conjured by the insanity of his mind.

She couldn't be here. It wasn't right. She was supposed to be off living her own adventure, not interrupting his.

His breathing hitched as Kizaru charged towards her, his eyes straining to keep up with the location of the light logia.

As the Admiral advanced, Ace sat up on his knees, his limbs straining against his confines.

"No...No..."

Sengoku watched him warily, unable to pinpoint exactly what it was Ace was watching with such fear.

Luffy gasped as she narrowly dodged a beam of light that very nearly took her head off.

_This guy's going to be a pain._

Watching her dodge a second attack, the fear consumed Ace. He had to act. He had to do something. Anything.

"LUFFY! LEAVE!"

Pirates and Marines alike stopped.

Even when Ace had been conversing –although it had been closer to a shouting match than an actual conversation– with Whitebeard, it hadn't sounded like this.

Luffy jumped over another Marine as she met her brother's eyes with defiance.

"MAKE ME!"

* * *

><p><strong>And so the plot thickens... Hehe Sengoku's still not having a very good time is he? I hope you liked the chapter! <strong>**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/faved/followed this story so far! :)**


	47. Second Sibling

"LUFFY! LEAVE!"

...

...

...

Sabo's head snapped up, completely alert.

There was no doubt in his mind that it was Ace that had just called Luffy's name.

His eyes trailed back down to look at the unmoving body.

Releasing a sigh Sabo wrapped his hand around the larger one that lay limp above the covers, and squeezed it gently.

"Sorry Dad, I'll be back in a bit. I've just got to go clean up the others' mess. You know what they're like."

Letting go of Thatch's hand, Sabo sprinted out of the medical bay and up the stairs that would lead him to the deck.

It had been his every intention to stay out of the fighting for as long as possible, giving the Whitebeard Pirates the benefit of the doubt that they could do it on their own, and subsequently avoiding gaining any type of recognition.

That didn't seem a likely option now.

Dragon was going to be furious but Sabo couldn't bring himself to care.

When he'd heard the door creak open earlier, he thought someone may have been coming down to either get him to help fight or to kill anyone left on board.

However, when the door had shut without anyone entering or saying anything, he had returned to watching his father.

During the past few days, almost every waking moment of Sabo's time he had spent in the infirmary by Thatch's side.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dad?"<em>

Sabo felt as if the past ten years had never happened as he rushed to his dad's bedside, his staff dropping to the floor as it slipped from his grasp.

His hand came within millimetres of Thatch's shoulder before he retracted it sharply.

Never had he seen his father like this.

His skin was pale with a sheen of sweat coating his face.

It didn't take a genius to work out that whatever his aliment was, his condition wasn't good.

Sabo opened his mouth to speak but found the words lodged in his throat.

Swallowing hard he licked his lips in attempt to try again.

"I– What–"

Sabo exhaled as his eyes remained locked on Thatch. The sentences just wouldn't form. All the hours he'd spent dreaming about the day he would meet Thatch once more were nothing like this.

"He's in a coma. Has been for a while. We don't know if he'll wake up."

The words of the first mate repeated themselves inside his mind.

_We don't know if he'll wake up._

_We don't know if he'll wake up._

He felt his eyes become wet without his permission before he began to shake his head in disagreement.

"When."

The statement was confused as a question by the third division commander.

"A few months ba–"

"No."

Jozu frowned at the interruption. He wasn't keen on this kid to start with but he'd thought that if he was Thatch's son he'd at least _try_ to be civil. That idea was starting to evaporate.

"**When** he wakes up. Not if."

Marco nodded his head absently. It had been many weeks since someone had said something so positive about Thatch's condition and truly meant it.

"We'll be back in an hour."

Jozu's objections were cut off with a glance from Marco, before he led the pair outside and shut the door behind him.

The sound of the door clicking shut went unnoticed by Sabo as he gently brought his hand up, this time to brush his fingers along Thatch's forehead.

"Dad?" He whispered.

"Dad, you have to wake up."

Moving in closer to the side of the bed Sabo pressed his hands onto Thatch's shoulder, shaking him slightly.

"Come on Dad. Enough. This isn't funny, you have to wake up right now. Ace is danger. We need you."

The hours came and went.

Sabo lost all perception of time.

The doctor and nurses scurried around occasionally, checking different things and changing the IV's that were sustaining Thatch's life.

Marco stopped by the most, usually with food for Sabo to consume or to just sit next to him and offer silent support, but he was often called away for meetings and planning.

It was whilst Sabo was alone that the lack of sleep and the desperation started setting in.

With a single finger Sabo leaned forward and poked Thatch, once and then again. Whilst no response came, Sabo didn't give up and so the pattern continued for the next hour with the repetition of a single word with every poke: "Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad."

Another night past and Sabo failed to sleep at all.

Talking hadn't worked. Begging hadn't worked. Prodding until his finger hurt hadn't worked.

Sabo's tolerance was shattered, and a misdirected sense of rage filled him, forcing him to his feet.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! ACE IS IN DANGER AND YOU'RE JUST LYING HERE!"

His yells had startled everyone on board, causing four of the commanders to burst in the room and drag him off the ship until he'd calmed down.

Once he was finally calm, Izo, sixteenth division commander, led him back on board, this time, taking him past the infirmary and down to a lower level.

Sabo didn't react to being taken past where he should have been. He knew his eruption had been out of character and out of place. It wasn't Thatch's fault and he shouldn't have yelled what he had.

They came to a stop in an area Sabo had not been in before.

"You can sleep in here."

"Where are we?"

Izo smiled sadly at the young man.

"This is Ace's room. Get some sleep. We will need your energy on the battlefield. It is best you don't let yourself forget that Thatch and Ace aren't the only ones in danger."

Sabo looked down in shame. He wasn't the only one hurting and all that time he was accusing Thatch of not doing anything, when in reality he wasn't either.

Whilst he'd originally felt strange sleeping in his brother's bed, the exhaustion quickly overthrew any notions of continuing to remain awake.

The next morning, Sabo sought out Whitebeard to apologise but the response he got was not at all what he expected.

"I expect it of Thatch's brats."

To say that Sabo was confused was an understatement. Thatch was not what one would consider an angry man that would throw a temper tantrum when in a state of sleep deprivation.

Whitebeard didn't clarify and Sabo decided it was better not to question and instead angled his head in a show of appreciation.

The old man just smirked as the 'brat' returned inside.

* * *

><p>Reaching the deck, Sabo quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to formulate some kind of plan.<p>

It didn't take long to locate Luffy pushing her way through the lines of Marines, clearly opting to use her brute strength rather than take a quieter road which would have enabled her to get to Ace much faster.

It was too late to factor Luffy into any of his plans; she was too far ahead for that.

'_May as well clear a path for her to come back.'_

Whitebeard watched as the young man threw himself over the edge of his ship down into the battle below.

'_The brats are just like each other.'_

A huge grin plastered itself on his face as thoughts of the three brats melded into one.

"Gurahahaha. Just like Thatch."

* * *

><p><strong>Sabo has officially entered the scene!<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has faved/followed/reviewed, its truly amazing to see that so many people are enjoying 'Expect the Unexpected'. Let me know what you thought of the chapter!**


	48. Smoke, Sisters and Swords

"No one's coming to save you this time, Strawhat."

A muffled 'eep' escaped from Luffy as she leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the stream of smoke heading her way.

Growling slightly at Captain Smoker's attack Luffy readied herself for a fight.

His powers were a pain, and she still had no idea how to beat him, but she would think of something, she had to... Or maybe she didn't.

A well-toned leg came flying through the air, propelling Smoker to the side.

"What the hell!? Hancock?"

The lady in question titled her head outrageously far back in order to look down on the very confused Smoker.

"Don't get in my way! My darling little sister needs me!"

Luffy chuckled slightly at Boa's actions. She was one funny lady.

As Smoker stood momentarily stunned, trying to play an intense game of connect-the-dots within his own mind, Boa turned her attention to Luffy.

"Luffy! I have the key to your brother's cuffs. You can save him, you just have to concentrate."

Luffy accepted the key, quickly hiding it in her shirt to ensure she wouldn't lose it. Once it was secure, Luffy locked her arms around Boa in a brief hug.

"Thank you!"

As Luffy released her and disappeared once more into the crowd, Boa couldn't help but slump to the ground, her hands covering her reddened cheeks.

"My baby sister is so cute!"

Meanwhile, surrounding Marines were panicking. Many were running in circles as they tried to comprehend what Stawhat had done to take out a warlord.

Luffy advanced faster than she had been previously, all three admirals otherwise occupied and Jinbei taking care of Moria, giving her the chance to slip through Marines of lower rank.

A flash of green skimmed through the air, forcing her to stop. The ground cracked just in front of her toes.

Following the trail back to its origin, Luffy's eyes widened as they connected with two yellow ones that she'd come across before.

"Hawk-eyes."

Mihawk remained expressionless as he examined the small girl.

It could have been the straw hat, or the desperation that poured out of her, but something caused the World's Greatest Swordsman to pause.

* * *

><p>East Blue.<p>

Of all the insignificant seas it had to be the most insignificant, which is why it really shouldn't have come as a surprise to him that it was the sea that Shanks had been residing.

Mihawk didn't have friends. Not even people he would consider close acquaintances. Only rivals.

However, if he had to pick his favourite rival it would undoubtedly be Red Haired Shanks.

He was the one man that tarnished his near perfect record.

A strong opponent.

A challenge.

It was his increasing boredom of not having a decent enough spar with anyone, that had guided his course towards the weakest of the seas.

He was itching for a fight and he wouldn't settle for anyone less than Shanks' standard.

A slight puff of air was blown out of his nose as his mind actually caught up to his thoughts. He was one swing short of complementing the man. Shanks would have a field day if he knew.

His one-man vessel was just passing Whiskey Peak, somewhere he wouldn't have need to stop at, except for now that the particular ship he was after was docked in the bay.

Finally.

It would seem that he would not have to continue his search into the Eastern waters after all.

Leaving his boat docked beside the _Red Force, _Mihawk headed into the middle of the town, his course locked onto the loudest tavern that, he had no doubt, was where Shanks would be.

He scoured the room closely but the red head he was after was nowhere to be found.

The man's crew was here, evidently able to enjoy themselves with or without their boisterous captain.

Turning to leave, his gaze was caught by a tall man. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail and a cigarette rested loosely in his mouth.

Pushing off the wall he had been leaning on, the man strode towards Mihawk, his body revealing that he held no sense of fear.

"Captain's still on the ship. I'm not sure he'll want ta see you right now."

The man Mihawk knew to be Ben Beckham, walked past him and out into the cooling afternoon air.

Mihawk followed after him silently.

Whilst outwardly he showed no emotion, he couldn't help a bubbling sense of dread forming inside his gut.

He couldn't remember a time where he had ever been turned away unless it was on his own accord when he'd deemed his rival far too drunk to fight seriously.

So what had happened to make the drink loving man, not want to fight?

"Wait 'ere."

Mihawk stopped at the beginning of the wharf as he watched the First Mate head inside, presumably to where his Captain was.

It wasn't long before Ben reappeared.

"You can go on board, try not ta break the ship."

Mihawk didn't move as he watched the retreating figure return to the tavern in town.

His black ringed eyes, examined the ship closely.

He and Shanks would never fight on either of their vessels. His being too small, and Shanks's well, they tended to do more damage to their surroundings then to each other.

Again, Mihawk was left with only questions.

As he made his way onto the deck his questions morphed into an indignant sense of anger. He'd sailed almost to the opposite end of the Grand Line to–

"Hey Hawk-eyes. You here for a match?"

The grinning idiot looked as stupid as always but the heart stopping difference was not what was there, but rather what wasn't there.

"What the hell did you do?"

Shanks' grin faltered slightly, before returning to its full strength. He'd never regret the actions that had cause him to lose his arm, but that didn't mean he was fully adjusted to the thought. He was still coming to terms with what needed to be done in order to compensate for the missing limb.

"Concerned for me Hawky? I'm touched. We going to head out for a spar?"

His right arm, rested on the hilt of his sword.

"No."

"WHAT?! But Hawk-eye! You came all the way to the end of the world as you know it just to fight me! You can't say no to a spar!"

Mihawk's eyebrow twitched slightly; there was something unnerving about the oaf's ability to know his previous intentions.

"I won't fight a one armed invalid."

Turning to leave, Mihawk's movements stilled as the cool metal of a sharpened blade came to rest on the side of his neck.

"Mihawk."

The strain and desperation in Shanks' voice was palpable.

"I didn't lose my dominant arm. It's not like I need it...right?"

Unsheathing his sword Mihawk pushed away Shanks's blade, before positioning him in his normal fighting stance.

A grin spread across Shanks's face as he too slipped into his fighting stance.

"Alright! As per the usual rules. Oh, and careful of _Red Force_, Benny will have my head if we damage her."

Mihawk rolled his eyes slightly but grunted an acknowledgement.

Sometimes he wondered who it was that really ran this ship.

Shanks attacked first, capitalising on Mihawk's momentary distraction in thought.

The two clashed blades, back and forth, neither one displaying any indication of being at a disadvantage.

Mihawk's brows furrowed.

Shanks was coping well for a man with one arm but that was just what he was.

A man with one arm.

Recognising an opening that Shanks would normally not have presented, Mihawk took it, using the back of his blade to carry out the motion.

A groan slipped through Shanks lips as he hit the deck, his arm quickly releasing his sword to instead catch his fall.

"Your balance has been shifted. You need to re-centre yourself."

Pushing himself up, as if doing a one handed push up, Shanks righted himself but made no move for his sword.

It was clear that this had been their last spar.

Even if he did 're-centre himself' as Mihawk put it, he knew that his days of competing with Mihawk were over.

The edges of his mouth pulled down, before his signature grin returned.

He was the closest thing Mihawk had to a friend. It didn't matter if their 'excuse' for meeting up was gone, he knew that Mihawk would still search him out every now and again, because he was Mihawk, and if anything, he was a creature of habit.

As Mihawk turned his back on the man he once considered his strongest opponent, logic dictated that he had no more use for the man.

Shanks words rang out to him as he continued towards his boat.

"I lost it to a Sea King, protecting the funniest little kid you could ever meet. Maybe next time you come and visit I can tell you the story."

Mihawk didn't think that he would ever hear that story but he did.

A story about a cheeky little girl, destined to be the King of the Pirates.

* * *

><p>In the moments of their standstill, it had not missed Mihawk's attention that she had not bothered to attack him at all, when anyone else in her way had been quickly set upon.<p>

Unable to see the reasoning inside her mind, his only option became to ask.

"Why aren't you trying to fight me?"

"You're Zoro's."

The seemingly simplistic answer sparked a grin across her face, making her look every inch like the hat's predecessor.

Allowing the air in his lungs to escape his body, Mihawk closed his eyes.

"You owe me big Red-haired."

His muttered statement was not loud enough for Luffy to make out what had been said but the attack that followed was slow and wide, enough of an indication that he was no longer interested in blocking her path.

Luffy pushed to the left, wincing slightly as the top of the glarier slide off as a result of Mihawk's attack.

Shaking her head, Luffy trained her eyes back on her necessary direction, all interactions with the warlord gone from her thoughts in seconds.

Mihawk's thoughts on the young girl lingered slightly longer as he engaged Vista in a battle of the blades.

_Prove the idiot right, 'Future King of the Pirates'._

* * *

><p><strong>I know this wasn't heavily focused on the war and I'm sorry! Having said that... I really love Shanks and Mihawk... poor Shanks :'(<br>**  
><strong>So... I'm having a bit of trouble at the moment with where I want the war to go and how everything is going to play out. I've decided that I wasn't really happy with the ideas I had so it may take me a bit more time to work out the storyline. I'm sorry that I won't be updating as quickly as I have been, but I need to take the time to try and get it the way I want it. If you have any suggestions please let me know :)<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has faved/followed and especially to those who have reviewed!**


	49. Scaling Walls is Overrated

Sabo didn't know why but something felt... off.

Someone was in trouble.

Clearly on the battlefield lots of people were in vulnerable positions, but this trouble felt different.

The sight of Ivan and been a welcomed one, however seeing the Pacifista's in the shape of Kuma had been quite the opposite. Whilst he felt he was dealing with that situation better than Ivan, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Luffy had enough back up with rather random individuals flanking her sides. Sabo felt a sweat drop form at the back of his head.

_Well, that's Luffy._

Examining his surroundings in a slow, circular motion, his eye caught on an unfamiliar figure standing on the _Moby Dick_.

Whitebeard had yet to perceive him as a threat but Sabo felt and knew differently.

Whatever was going on in that guy's head was dangerous.

Too dangerous to be ignored.

Abandoning his original goal to clear a path, Sabo doubled back to the ship he'd barely left the shadow of.

Scaling a rope to the deck, he wasted no time in launching himself between the strange guy and Whitebeard, his staff catching the man's sword and forcing it from his grip.

Marco soon landed a few meters away seething.

Gripping Squardo by his collar he shook the man he considered to be a brother back and forth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Whose side are you on?"

"Enough Marco. Let him be."

At his father's words Marco released the material gathered in his fists and stepped away.

"YOU LIED! YOU'RE GOING TO TRADE OUR LIVES FOR HIS!"

Sabo would be the first to admit that he was kind of confused.

Who was trading what now?

He may not have been around long, but the glimpses of a family that Sabo had seen were enough for him to know that Whitebeard cared deeply and equally for all of his family.

This guy was going to get the prize for the stupidest person of the year award if he thought the old man was selling him out – and that prestigious award was generally reserved exclusively for Thatch or Luffy.

"HOW COULD YOU SELL US OUT!"

Yep. This guy was now the official owner of the title 'Stupidest Person', something that Sabo wasn't afraid to inform him about.

"Are you an idiot? Family don't sell each other out! Family sticks together and never leaves anyone behind. That's why you're here! Not as some kind of bargaining tool."

Squardo was affronted to say the least to have a total stranger lecture him on what it meant to be a family.

The realisation that the blonde's words had been the truth struck deep within Squardo causing him to stumble. Before he could hit the ground a large arm wrapped itself around him and pulled him into his father's chest.

"My foolish son, it doesn't matter which one of my sons they had on that platform, you are all my family, and I would do the same for each and every one of you."

Tears gathered in the eyes of all those that heard him.

Of course Pop's would never sell them out. He took them in. It didn't matter who they were, what they had or hadn't done. Hell, Ace had tried to kill Pop's well over a hundred times and yet he was still their brother. With a renewed vigour, the allied pirates fought harder than they had before, utilising their numbers to take out one Pacifista at a time.

Releasing Squardo from his grip, Whitebeard stretched to his full height.

How dare Sengoku try to use his family against him?

He would flatten this hell hole, even if it cost him his life.

Raising his left fist across his chest, Whitebeard pushed it back out letting loose a torrent of cracks racing through the air.

Marines stared wide eyed as the village crumbled before them.

Hope lit up in the pirate's eyes as they prayed for the execution to fall with the surrounding infrastructure.

The tower however stood stead fast, with the three admirals having returned to its base to repel Whitebeard's attack. Pushing the attack back out towards the pirates, Kizaru's eyes lit up with intrigue as the ice splintered rapidly at the edge of the bay.

The cracks weren't large but they had sufficiently weakened the casing of ice enough that a groan sounded from under the water.

With a final moan, the Marine's impenetrable wall rose through the ice, encasing the pirates in the bay.

Sabo's gaze relocated Luffy just as she reached the newly formed wall. This was not good. She was so close if only the wall hadn't pushed through.

Although...

"Oi, Old man, you need to take out the wall."

Whitebeard looked down slightly, to his unexpected fighting 'partner'.

"Don't tell me what to do brat."

He may have stopped an unnecessary conflict, but the kid was coming years too soon to tell him what needs to be done.

Having said this, unless he did take out the wall, it was going to mean serious trouble for his children.

Already many of them were trying to get close enough to cross over Oars, who had conveniently managed to block one portion of the wall, but it was a risky way to continue without everyone being picked off one by one.

Whitebeard released another fist, his power aiming directly for the wall.

CRACK!

The noise resounded through the ears of everyone present, but the wall stood strong.

Whitebeard frowned as he looked at the crater that had dented but not punctured the wall. Whatever materials they had used he wouldn't have been surprised if they were chosen to specifically absorb his attacks.

* * *

><p>Luffy, Jinbei and Ivan came to a halt in front of the huge wall.<p>

Their current position made it impractical for them to try and make it over to the single break in the wall. They'd have to find another way.

Luffy placed a hand on it experimentally, ripping it away violently, before pausing.

Trying again, she put her hand back on wall, this time leaving it there.

"It's not made of seastone."

Ivan slid off one of his pink gloves after he kicked away an oncoming Marine.

Following Luffy's lead, he too checked the wall.

"You're right Straw-chan."

Jinbei, not comfortable with where Strawhat was going with this revelation, decided it was necessary to share his thoughts on the matter.

"It could be seastone on the other side."

Luffy just looked at the Fishman with a cheeky grin.

"I guess I'll just have to check and find out."

Closing her eyes and relaxing her body as best she could, Luffy let her arm meld through the wall.

As her appendage successfully sunk through, Luffy stepped closer, allowing her body to vibrate through the wall.

Marco watched on from his vantage point in the sky, an overwhelming sense of disbelief coursing through his body as she simply disappeared through the thick wall.

"What the hell was that? Pops! Ace's sister is on the other side!"

Sabo grinned at the First mate's words.

"Well that's a new trick."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the Admirals and hoards of Vice-Admirals were shocked to see Strawhat just standing there in front of them, as if she hadn't just penetrated their 'impenetrable wall'.<p>

Kizaru leaned forward slightly to address the pip-squeak that thought she could win this war.

"Give it up Strawhat. You can't beat us."

Luffy didn't take her eyes off the Admirals.

Light.

Lava.

Ice.

He was right. She'd come across two of them before. Even at full strength it would be a battle and a half to win, not to mention the damage she would sustain would be huge.

For now they couldn't be her focus. All she had to do was get to Ace.

"I don't have to."

Sliding her foot back, Luffy pushed off the ground hard as she slipped between Aokiji and Akainu.

Both turned, marginally impressed that even with their haki she had been able to disappear from sight, if only for a fraction of time.

Although she had managed to bypass two of the three Admirals, she'd been unable to shake Kizaru who was keeping up alongside her.

"Not fast enough Strawhat"

With that, Kizaru's leg transformed into a beam of light which quickly turned into a well aimed kick at his current target.

Having seen the move before, Luffy rolled to the side to avoid the incoming attack, her arm singed slightly where she hadn't pulled away fast enough.

Ignoring the burning feeling, Luffy continued forward, unaware that Kizaru was now directly behind her.

A splatter of blood left Luffy's mouth as the Admiral's foot connected with her back.

Her body stopped as it collided with a nearby building.

"LUFFY!"

Ace strained fervently against his bindings.

He had promised he would always protect her, even if he was millions of miles away, yet here she was so close and he couldn't do anything.

The wooden boards that his cuffs were attached to started creaking in protest to the force of Ace's strength pulling against them.

He bowed his head as he concentrated all his effort on the cuffs.

'_Damn seastone!'_

"Commence the execution immediately."

The green uniformed men nodded sharply as they raised the weapons above their heads.

Luffy pushed herself faster as she watched in horror.

'_Shit! Not ready! Not ready! Not ready!_'

The blades began to fall.

"No... No. Stop. ACE!"

Aokiji's hand splayed out as an ice staff formed in his grip as he finally made it to a position in front of Luffy.

Whilst he would never admit it aloud, he was rather fond of the young speedster. He admired that she stuck to her values and unlike other pirates, slaughtering innocent civilians was nowhere near the top of her list of things to do.

In fact, Aokiji wasn't even sure that she was aware of what it meant to be a pirate.

Nevertheless, he had a job to do.

He may be known for being notoriously laid back but he hadn't arrived at his station by not doing his job when the time called.

Clenching the ice staff Aokiji swiped at Luffy's midsection as she tried to pass him for a second time.

His balance was thrown off as his momentum unexpectedly continued straight through his intended target.

His gaze was pulled away from the advancing Strawhat, as he examined his melted weapon.

"Well that's interesting."

Luffy pushed herself faster, ignoring any thoughts on her interactions with the Admiral.

Time seemed to slow as the sword came within inches of Ace's neck.

"_Just Concentrate."_

She knew that she could do it but was that really all it took?

Boa had not led her astray in the time since she'd proclaimed Luffy as her sister...

Taking in a deep breath of air, Luffy threw everything she had into the strange feeling that she knew would be forced from her body.

"STOP IT!"

* * *

><p><strong>And there we have it :) What ever shall happen next? Hehehe, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved and followed!<strong>

**Also... I've been looking for a new picture to be the cover of this story. If anyone knows of any good images that have a female Luffy with Sabo and Ace let me know! I've given up trying to find one with a female Luffy, the two boys and Thatch... It's just not a common grouping :(**

**To my Guest reviewers:**  
><strong>Big Sis of 8: Thank you! I promise I won't stop updating completely, but the gaps in between may be slightly greater.<strong>  
><strong>Guest: Thank you so much! No problems, thank you for taking the time to review :)<strong>


	50. Towards the Tower

"STOP IT!"

...

...

...

...

"BACK UP STRAWHAT!"

Roars from the Whitebeard Pirates sounded as they charged into the plaza, aiming to take out the remaining marines that had managed to hold on to their consciousness, if only barely.

Whitebeard smirked slightly as he watched the brat charge forward as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't single-handedly wiped out thousands of navy soldiers.

Whilst he knew the capabilities of Ace and Thatch, and he was coming to understand Sabo's, he had still remained in doubt over the youngest child's abilities.

He had been certain that she was all talk.

'Going to save Ace' this, 'Going to save Ace' that.

A little brat yelling, 'I'm going to be King of the Pirates'.

Thatch, Ace and Sabo had put their faith in this one girl.

The three of them were nothing short of still being children in his eyes, but he wouldn't disregard what they had seen in the girl, especially not now having seen it with his own eyes.

She was, indeed, something else.

Sabo meanwhile, was in a state of shock.

_No way. __**His**__ baby sister!?_

He'd been sticking close to Whitebeard, taking out a multitude of marines that thought they could defeat the strongest man on the seas.

Whilst he didn't want to admit it, things weren't looking good.

Luffy may have managed to remove the lower ranking marines (or as he so lovingly called them, grunts) but there were still a huge number of Vice-Admirals and a fair amount of other ranks with strong wills, fighting in the war. Not to mention the Admirals were still out for blood.

The other thing going against their favour was Whitebeards condition.

Age.

It was clearer to Sabo now than it had been when they were still on Fishman Island.

He was old.

While some things may get better with age, they all hit a point where they started to head the other way.

The fighting and expenditure of energy was taking its toll.

As long as he didn't take any major hits, it was probable that Whitebeard could get out of here alive and live on for a few more years at least.

It was this reason, and his understanding of how important Whitebeard must be to both Thatch and Ace, which had kept Sabo by the man's side.

A flash of red pulled him away from his musings.

Acting purely on instinct, Sabo strengthened his grip on his staff and throwing his weight behind it, swung it towards the perpetrator.

Akainu hissed as his lava fist connected with the seastone weapon.

He retreated back a few steps.

He had been banking on the element of surprise with everyone's focus supposedly resting on Strawhat. Clearly he hadn't believed that any of the pirates would have denied Whitebeard's order.

Following the Admiral's lead, Sabo also backed up, carefully ensuring that his head was tilted down low enough that his hat blocked out most of his face.

Now positioned at the side of Whitebeard's leg, Sabo addressed him whilst secretly keeping his focus on Akainu.

"Come on old man. I thought you were supposed to be the world's strongest."

Whitebeard eyed Sabo, not at all pleased with the teasing attitude the cheeky brat was giving off.

_Kids these days_, he thought, _no respect_.

Not one to back away from what had clearly been a challenge to his strength; Whitebeard sent his own attack toward Akainu, forcing the Admiral to retreat back several more metres to avoid taking serious damage.

Glancing back down at Sabo, Whitebeard returned to their conversation.

"I thought I said to back up your sister."

A smirk covered Sabo's shadowed face as he took out a handful of marines that had built up behind Whitebeard.

"I'm not a pirate. I can do whatever the hell I like... Besides, Luffy doesn't need my help."

Their banter was put on hold as Sabo focused more keenly on the growing number of marines moving their attention on attacking Whitebeards exposed back.

With Ivan's and Dragon's bounties at already staggering heights, Sabo felt no need to add his name to the revolutionary bounty pile if he could avoid it.

Besides, it would also mean less punishment from Dragon for doing something so reckless.

At least he hoped.

Perhaps he could blame Ivan?

As his staff connected with another marine's head, Sabo quickly looked behind him to check on Luffy. She may not have needed his help but that didn't mean he didn't worry about what she was doing and how she was going.

* * *

><p>"Oi! Oi! Vhere did you learn to use that?!"<p>

"Huh? Boa said all I had to do was concentrate."

Luffy's quizzical look was quickly diverted from Ivan towards the marines swarming towards her.

Ivan dodged an attack as he slapped his cheeks, partly in surprise and partly in horror.

_She hasn't had any training?!_

He examined the girl out of the corner of his eyes.

She was a monster.

Just like Dragon.

When Sabo had told him stories of his little monster of a sister, he had always taken them has having a few extra pinches of salt but clearly the boy hadn't been exaggerating.

Ivan was rapidly distracted as Jozu leapt in front of Luffy and let his diamond fist collide with the ground, the impact forcing marines out of the way of his destruction.

"Ace's sister! Run straight ahead! We're going to open a path!"

Izo, who had also made his way in front of them, led the charge with Haruta.

"Was that one of your okama, Ivan?"

Despite the noise that raged on from the surrounding battles, Izo skidded to a halt leaving Haruta to take over leading the Whitebeard pirates and their allies.

"What did you just call me?"

Not giving her a chance to respond, Izo lifted Luffy up by the front of her vest so that she was at his eye level.

"Do not associate me with those people!"

Haruta, finally noticing the missing presence from beside her, located the irate man she was after.

"Izo! Not the time!"

As if snapping out of a trance, Izo huffed before throwing Luffy in the direction that he had stopped her from going in.

"Well? Hurry up then!"

"Shishi, thanks okama-chan!"

Izo almost screamed in frustration. The family of four were by far the most frustrating and infuriating individuals he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Luffy pushed herself harder as her path was cleared of marines, leaving only a direct path to Ace.

Her new position allowed Ace to finally see her clearly, as well as being able to see the extent of her injuries.

Anger welled inside him, until he could no longer contain it, his rage spilling out of him in audible growls.

_No one will touch my baby sister._

With a renewed fire in his eyes, Ace pulled on his bindings, the platform groaning with the pressure.

Whilst many couldn't see the transition that Ace had undertaken, Sengoku certainly had.

_This has gone on long enough._

Bending down to grab one of the long handled swords out of the fallen executioner's hand, Sengoku had made up his mind.

It was perhaps not proper practise, but the blood of the final remaining link to the Pirate King would wash right off his hands.

Luffy's eyes narrowed as she watched Sengoku move towards the sword.

This was not good.

_I don't have enough time._

She paused to place a single palm on the ground.

A pink glow emitted from her skin as she sped up her blood movement.

No one would take her brother away from her.

The ground underneath her back foot crumbled as Luffy pushed herself beyond speeds she had ever travelled before.

Resounding 'booms' created by the displacement of the air beneath Luffy's feet, caused confusion amongst the marines as they desperately tried to locate where the Strawhat Captain was.

Even with his observation haki, Ace was having trouble keeping up with his sisters movements.

What he could tell was that she was getting close.

He had to get out of these cuffs.

Straining his muscles, Ace's efforts were rewarded as the sounds of splintering wood were accompanied by the lifting of the metal plating that his chains were attached to.

Pulling one knee forward and out from underneath him, he was ready to make a move from the platform, chains and all.

However his actions were cut short by a single foot stepping down on his chance of freedom.

Launching into a sky run, Luffy slowed drastically, unable to maintain the supersonic pace she'd previously been setting.

Kizaru being the first to locate the teen, shifted into his light particles, reforming as he took up a position in front of her.

Luffy stalled.

The pair came to a standstill in the air.

Panic crept into the edges of Luffy's mind.

In the air her speed was greatly reduced and if she couldn't even out run Kizaru on land she knew she only had a minimal chance of getting past him in the sky.

"I told you, you couldn't beat us, Strawhat."

"Now that's not very nice. Why don't you pick on someone your own size yoi?"

Kizaru was visibly startled as Marco's renowned kick sent him hurtling towards the ground, the experienced pirate swopping after him to ensure he was kept well away from his brother's youngest child.

Luffy watched completely memorised by the blue flames that trailed behind the falling pair.

Shaking her head, for allowing herself to be distracted, Luffy returned to moving towards Ace, grateful that for whatever reason that the Fleet Admiral had still failed to make a move.

The feelings were quickly replaced with ones of dread as Garp leapt onto the platform, his broad form blocking Ace from her sight.

"Gramps! Move! Please!"

"Over my dead body, Strawhat Luffy."

Garp straightened his back. His loyalty had always been to the Navy.

"From now on I will only ever consider you an enemy!"

The conflict within Luffy's mind over her Grandfather's words flashed across her face but her gaze soon hardened as she reached her decision.

Garp was a Marine.

Ace was her brother.

Ace had been there for her when she needed him most.

She wouldn't let her **real** family down.

"I'm sorry, Gramps."

Garp's eyes widened slightly at her words. She was his only granddaughter and the closest thing he'd ever had to having his own daughter.

_It's for the best, Luffy._

Luffy ceased her sky run, her body now positioned just above Garp's head. Drawing back her right fist, Luffy repressed all of her memories she shared with the man in front of her.

Fulfilling his duties as a marine and a Vice Admiral, Garp brought back his own fist whilst closing his eyes, unwilling to see the destruction he would cause to his own flesh and blood.

His fist never made it as Luffy's increased speed sent him flying off the edge of the platform and plummeting into the ground below.

As her momentum carried her, Luffy landed in front of Ace, resting on the balls of her feet.

"Shishi. Hi Ace!"

Ace stared dumbly in shock.

A dream.

It had to be.

Sengoku spluttered in disbelief. Today had to hold the record for going the furthest against what he had planned in his entire life.

Things always went his way and he refused to let one of the biggest moments in his career melt away before his eyes.

Shifting his foot back to change into his Budda form, Sengoku failed to realise that his foot had been the final thing keeping Ace on the platform.

Feeling the chains go slack, Ace lunged forward, his body pushing him to protect his little sister from the nowhere near peaceful Budda.

Luffy latched one arm around her brother as the sensation of falling took over, her other hand quickly seeking out the key Boa had provided her.

Luffy's fingers griped the seastone tightly as she stuffed it into her brothers cuffs with the faintest 'click'.

"ACE!"

"SHOOT!"

"STRAWHAT!"

"TAKE THEM DOWN!"

The shouts from the marines and pirates faded into nothing as the roar of the torrent of flames burst into the arena.

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><p><strong>The new cover image for 'Expect the Unexpected' is courtesy of Tarume, thank you so much!<br>****I can't believe this is chapter 50! Thank you so much to everyone who has faved/reviewed/followed! **

**Guest Reviewers:  
>Big Sis of 8: Hahaha, I'm glad you were excited for the last chapter! I hope you were just as excited for this one :) I haven't seen it no, but I shall add it onto my list of things to watch.<strong>

**Danielle: I'm sorry that you didn't like the cliff hanger. Most of the time I don't mean to make them like that, it just that the chapters work out if I end them at those particular points.**


	51. Into the Fire

**AN: I am so sorry that this is late! My Beta was really busy and I don't like updating without having the chapter checked first. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed and thank you to my three guest reviewers, I really appreciate hearing from you. ****Also...**

**WARNING: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED ONLY HAS TWO CHAPTERS REMAINING AFTER THIS ONE!**

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><p>"Do you have any idea what you've done to my poor heart? I swear I was so close to having a heart attack that they wouldn't have needed to execute me!"<p>

"Shishi. Sorry, Ace. I promise I won't do it again."

"Good. You had better not."

"...As long as you promise not to get caught again."

Ace shot Luffy an exasperated look.

"I think the current circumstances dictate that I best leave that promise until **after** we vacate Marineford."

Luffy's grin grew larger at Ace's choice of words. On the occasions that he did manage to use 'big' words, he sounded so much like Sabo. It usually only occurred when he was stressed and often he didn't even realise he was doing it.

"Shishi okay, but I get to leave my promise until we get out of here too."

"What?! No! That wasn't the deal!"

The conversation halted as Ace and Luffy pushed through another line of marines trying to prevent them from leaving.

So far, the defences had been all but flattened by the pair.

It was a feat that many of the Whitebeard Pirate's wouldn't have believed if they hadn't been keeping a keen eye on the pair themselves.

Their understanding of each other's strengths and weak spots revealed the years that the siblings had been fighting side by side.

Only a few perceptive Whitebeard Commanders and Whitebeard himself could see the miniscule holes that seemingly required the eldest sibling to fill.

The pair paused slightly, both catching their breath as the marines continued to swarm after them like a horde of angry wasps (although, if Ace was given the choice between being chased by giant wasps and marines, he'd probably choose the wasps, much less annoying).

Two marines recklessly charged towards the pair, their swords already pulled back ready to strike.

A split second before the blades connected, Luffy found herself pushed down into a squat as Ace balanced himself with one hand on her head.

The two blades sailed through him as he gave the marines a sinister smile.

"That's my baby sister you were about to hit."

Terrified looks overtook the marine's faces as a burst of flames rendered them unconscious.

Ace's face shadowed, making him appear more frightening to the remaining marines.

"No one touches my sister. Got it?"

Luffy watched her brother's antics with amusement as they continued forward.

Normally she would have scolded him for being too over protective, or stealing her fun, but the feelings of relief that he was still breathing and by her side left her reluctant to correct his behaviour.

Her musings were interrupted as Whitebeard's booming voice carried over the battlefield.

"Guarara, you didn't think I'd played all my cards did you Sengoku?"

With those words, a final ship surfaced in the bay bringing a fresh wave of pirate's ready to aid their brother's back onto the ships.

Sengoku's eyebrow twitched.

Garp was not helping his frustrations, as he stood by his side, almost unable to contain the laughter that threatened to leave his lips.

Whitebeard had certainly duped them.

* * *

><p>Ace's eyes were trained on Whitebeard. His hand receiving a tug from Luffy's as she laced her fingers through his own.<p>

"Ace, come on! We have to go!"

"I know Luffy, I'll be there soon. You go ahead, I'll catch up."

Ace started pulling his hand away from the smaller one that had been entwined with his own.

He wouldn't leave Pop's behind.

Luffy was having none of Ace's nonsense as she gripped his hand tighter.

She just got him back.

She wasn't going to let him go.

Not so soon.

"No. I leave when you leave. There's no way you could catch up to me."

Ivan almost screeched at the sight of the two staring each other down in the middle of the battlefield.

Being further behind the sibling duo, Ivan changed his course slightly to flank their left side.

"Strawhat-chan, why have you stopped? Keep running!"

Luffy nodded, agreeing that they had to go but otherwise didn't move.

If Ace went to assist the Old Man, Luffy would be going with him.

Ace licked his lips, caught between his need to protect his only sister and to return to Whitebeard's side.

As if sensing his Grandson's inner turmoil, Whitebeard, took a few steps back towards the _Moby Dick_.

Whitebeard would die for any one of his sons if he had to, but death wasn't what his sons needed.

No, for his sons, Whitebeard would live.

Moving closer towards the _Moby Dick, _that remained bobbing gently as it harboured its precious cargo, Whitebeard released a hearty chuckle.

"Enjoying the free air Ace?"

Ace smirked and nodded before he returned Luffy's strangle hold on his hand.

Pulling them forward, they continued towards the boats, Jinbei and Ivan running on opposite sides of the siblings in an effort to shelter them from more of the incoming attacks.

Luffy grinned as the distance to the boats finally started to look attainable.

"Pirates are all the same. Scum. They are nothing but cowards, fleeing as soon as the can."

Ace skidded to a stop, the blood and sweat coating their entangled hands caused Luffy to lose her grip.

Managing to bring herself to a halt a few meters away, Luffy was not at all pleased with the how far she had been separated from Ace.

Meanwhile, the Second Division Commander had a fire in his eyes that had nothing to do with his devil fruit power as he turned back to face Akainu.

"What did you say?"

Unable to stop, Ivan and Jinbei continued pushing forward, taking out as many marines as they could.

Ivan attention had also split away from the pair as he sought to recall his 'candies' from the far reaching ends of the battlefield.

The ex-War Lord and Okama King, having flanked Luffy for most of the battle, now left her hovering on her own.

Luffy bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to keep her legs moving, in an attempt to stem the build up of lactic acid in her muscles.

The subtle movements proved to be insufficient as Luffy's hands flew to her left calf, the muscles seizing in an excruciating cramp. A nasty side effect that came with pumping her blood around her body faster than it should.

The Marines, taking advantage of her grounded position began encroaching on her from behind and both sides.

Luffy felt a genuine fear grip at her as she watched Ace and Akainu shout at each other only metres in front of her.

'_What is Ace doing?'_

* * *

><p>Sabo's eyes widened.<p>

'_What is the idiot doing?'_

Crashing through lines of Marines, Sabo charged towards his younger siblings.

He was going to kill Ace himself if the idiot didn't turn around, grab Luffy and run NOW!

* * *

><p>Still down on her knees, Luffy's gaze became transfixed on the ground beneath her, desperately grasping at her consciousness.<p>

Splotches of colour danced in and out of her vision as she tried to ease the growing pressure on her leg.

The surrounding marines raised their rifles ready to condemn Luffy's fate to death.

"Ready!"

Despite the noise that roared around her and the constant throbbing in her head, Luffy became distracted by a small piece of paper sliding forward.

Shaky fingers extended themselves to sweep the paper off the ground.

"Take aim!"

'_Ace's vivre card.'_

The paper wriggled along her palm before the edges began to burn rapidly.

Despite her body's protest, Luffy's head snapped up to see a molten fist flying towards Ace.

"FIRE!"

"NO!"

With energy she didn't know she still possessed, Luffy lunged for her brother. The marines that she had left behind collapsed from taking 'friendly fire'.

Dust flying into the air, the pair tumbled out of the path of the irate Admiral.

Ace's head throbbed from connecting harshly with the ground as Luffy lay protectively over him, her eyes shut.

"Luffy?"

...

...

...

"Luffy?"

Ace sat up slowly, his sister's body limp against his own.

Blood crept down the sides of her mouth and dripped off her chin, the sound echoing in his ears like a tap that hadn't been properly turned off.

Ace's breaths became short and sharp, his chest heaving, desperately trying to take in the air his body needed whilst his mind became eerily blank.

Shaking Luffy's shoulders slightly, Ace didn't get the response he was craving, as her neck slumped further towards the ground.

"No."

His knuckles whitened as he gripped Luffy tighter.

He shook her a second time, stronger then he had before.

"No. Luffy? Wake up... Luffy?"

Bile rose up his throat as he felt like emptying the minimal contents of his stomach.

His mind completely shut down.

His body acted on instinct, pulling Luffy closer to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her warm body.

Ace's blood ran cold.


	52. Bonds that can't be Broken

**Okay, first up I have to say how incredibly sorry I am about how late this chapter is. Basically, my Beta has had this chapter for almost a month but still hasn't had a chance to look at it. **

**I know I said I didn't like publishing without my Beta reading it first, but it isn't fair on you guys for me to keep saying 'it's coming soon' when I now have no idea. So, I've edited it the best I could. Please forgive any mistakes that there might be in the chapter!**

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><p>Ace felt everything haze over around him.<p>

Luffy's limp body clenched tightly to his chest.

He'd never meant for this.

He'd never wanted this to happen.

The tears leaked from his eyes. Akainu would not get away with this.

Lowering Luffy's body to the ground, he brushed his hand across her forehead, the blood on his fingers smudging along her face.

A feral growl rumbled out from the depth of his chest.

His vision faded to red as he watched the Admiral in front of him. Akainu was smirking, pleased with himself. To him it was one less pirate in the world.

The calls of his comrades fell to nothing as Ace launched himself towards Akainu. The thirst for the Admiral's blood was an insatiable hunger that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.

Ace's fist was alight as he came closer and closer to connecting with the feared Admiral.

Before he could hit his intended target, a blue shadow collided with him, forcing him away from the Admiral and back towards Luffy.

Whilst Akainu's reaction was initially smug that Fire Fist had been taken out without his assistance, his smirk was destroyed when a mighty fist sent him flying into the ground.

"Those are **MY** brats you asshole!"

Ace meanwhile struggled beneath the figure that had him precariously pinned to the ground.

"GET OFF ME!"

"ACE! Ace calm down! It's me! It's Sabo! You have to calm down!"

As if a switched had been flipped, the fog that clouded Ace's vision receded as he finally paused to look at the figure above him.

"Sabo?"

Ace examined his 'dead' brother closely. He hadn't changed all that much. He looked older but his hair was still a short, curly blond, and the gritted teeth revealed a single missing tooth in his upper row.

"Am I dead?"

Sabo rolled his eyes at his brother in exasperation.

"No, it's the Bogey-man. Of course it's me, you idiot. Not to disappoint you, but you're not dead either."

Moving to his feet, Sabo extended an arm down to Ace, who grasped it without hesitation.

"You're alive then?"

"It would appear so."

"But–"

"Leave it for another time Ace."

Ace conceded with a nod, his focus returning to the Admiral who was now being pummelled into the ground by an irate Whitebeard.

As he remembered why Whitebeard was lashing out at Akaniu, the bile rose inside him.

"Lu–"

"She'll be fine Ace. It's Luffy we're talking about. It was just a graze. She's just exhausted herself."

Ace's eyes widened. Was it really possible for her to be okay? Her heartbeat had been so faint and her warm body had felt–

Warm.

Her body had still been warm and hadn't been getting any cooler.

Sabo shook Ace out of his realisation.

"Come on Ace. We've still got to get her out of here. Leave Akainu to Pop's. He won't get anything less than he deserves."

Ace nodded as Sabo swept his sister up into his arms, her back still bleeding slightly, but nothing that time wouldn't heal, even if some scars remained.

Picking up her fallen hat in one hand, Ace used his other to blast a column of fire at the Marines charging towards Sabo and an unconscious Luffy.

Ace glanced behind to Pop's as he ran beside his brother. His eyebrows furrowed as he replayed Sabo's words, a smile trailing along his face.

"You called him Pop's."

Sabo took a step back to avoid an oncoming attack, dropping low to sweep the marines legs from underneath him.

He was admittedly struggling slightly with his sister in his arms whilst still holding his staff.

He moved closer to Ace's side before he answered the question with a huff.

"Well yeah. He's family isn't he?"

Ace smirked at the response as he rotated his upper body to cover an attack to Sabo's back.

Sabo huffed again as he dodged another attack to his side. This wasn't working.

It was taking them too long to get where they needed to be.

He looked down at Luffy apologetically, and then he tossed her (as carefully as he could) over his right shoulder.

Shifting his grip on his staff, Sabo changed his tactics to offence, allowing he and Ace to move more swiftly towards the boats.

Finally making it to the edge of the ice that surrounded the slightly damaged but not irreparable _Moby Dick_ Ace looked back to the scene behind him.

Whitebeard had left Akainu in a poor state. His unconscious body was being dragged away from the battle field by two small marines, one with an uncommon shade of pink hair.

His Captain was now having a whale of a time splintering off patches of the ice that had already been vacated by his sons, but still held a number of unfortunate marines.

Vista and Jozu were working together to keep Akojii preoccupied whilst allowing their nakama to make their way back to the ships.

Subtly he could see the pair allowing Akojii to push them back, making it easier for them to make it to the ship.

Haruto, Izo and Speed Juro were dealing with Kizaru, but it was evident that even with the three of them they were struggling against the Admirals abilities.

Glancing up to the ship, Ace could just make out the calls of Marco, organising the ship and the crews to be ready for departure, as soon as Whitebeard gave the word.

Luffy still remained limp over Sabo's shoulder beside him.

She needed medical treatment, sooner rather than later.

His thoughts were interrupted by a growing speck of yellow that was emerging alongside their ships.

The door of the submarine opened as the water finished pouring off its sides, and from the darkness inside Ace could make out a single figure.

Ace's eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at the figure. It looked like a...

Rubbing his eyes to make sure that his vision was distorted, the action proved to be futile as a white bear in an orange jumpsuit stepped into the light, a second, shady looking character following behind.

"That's the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law."

Sabo's proclamation sparked something in Ace as he manoeuvred himself to stand between his brother and the submarine.

"I know what you're thinking and you cannot be serious!"

Sabo shifted Luffy back off his shoulder and into both arms.

"Ace we don't have much of a choice. He's a doctor and Luffy needs treatment now."

During their exchange Law hadn't made any comments however, his fixed gaze on Luffy's severely injured body gave a clear indication of what he was hanging around for.

Ace's eyes flickered between the submarine and the _Moby Dick_.

He felt torn.

His brothers still required his help in getting away, yet he wasn't willing to trust a stranger with his sister, especially not one with the epitaph 'Surgeon of Death'.

Sabo took the dilemma out of his hands, making the decision for him.

"Go help Marco out. I'll take Luffy and make sure she's taken care of."

Ace nodded, handing Sabo Luffy's hat.

"Keep her safe."

His eyes narrowed as he watched the dark doctor suspiciously.

Sabo smirked at the extra meaning in his words.

"She's my sister too you know?"

Not giving him a chance to respond, Sabo boarded the yellow vessel, the door being shut behind him by the panicked polar bear.

Akojii who had managed to slip away from his previous attackers, lunged towards the submerging submarine, ice splaying out from his body in a desperate attempt to stop the pirates escape.

His efforts were destroyed as Ace moved in front of him, a wall of fire blocking him in his tracks.

The heat of the attack forced Akojii to move away from the blaze, his arm that had been melted reforming out of ice.

The majority of the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies were boarded on the ships that hadn't been destroyed during the firing of cannons.

Those that were left on the platform of ice either being Commanders or others still being assisted on board.

The Commanders were quickly closing their ranks, forming a line between the remaining pirates and the Marines, Whitebeard at their centre.

With Akojii backed out of the way Ace moved towards Whitebeard, taking a position to his left.

Marco, confident that all the necessary preparations had been made, flew down to take his position on Whitebeards right.

The battle field once more came to a standstill. With no orders coming from Sengoku or the two remaining Admirals, the marines ground to a halt, unsure of how to proceed.

"Everything's, ready for us to go Pop's."

Whitebeard made no indication of whether he'd heard Marco's comment, as he continued to keep his eyes locked on the haggard looking Fleet Admiral, who had a similarly haggard Marine Hero, Garp, wedged under his foot.

Still muttering curses at the Admiral who had dared attack his biological grandchild and trying to free himself from Sengoku's restraining foot.

"That bastard! I'm going to kill him! I won't have Whitebeard do my job! Let me goooooo!"

Garp's incessant whining ceased as a new ship sailed into the bay.

The Captain of the vessel stood at the front of his men, each armed and ready to go if their Captain's Plan A, didn't achieve the desired result.

"Are you okay Ace?"

Ace gave his sister's hero a nod and a smirk.

"I'll live."

"Good."

Shanks turned his focus to Sengoku.

"This war is over."

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><p><strong>Have I ever told you how much I love Shanks? I absolutely love the guy! Definitely in my top 5 One Piece characters! On that note, does anyone care to share who is in their top 5? They can be in any order :)<strong>

**Thank you so much to everyone that has review/followed and faved Expected the Unexpected. Your support is amazing, and I absolutely promise that the final chapter will be up soon regardless of whether it has been properly edited.**

**To my Guest Reviewers:**  
><strong>ReVeaLxMeMoRieS - Was my explanation acceptable? You were closer then you knew! I must be losing my edge ;)<br>**  
><strong>Kouru-Kage - After I got this, I was straight onto the Wiki confirming what you said. I'm so sorry! I'm usually really thorough when it comes to checking the small details! I remember I checked about 5 times to make sure that it was his left arm that he lost not his right one, but with how good he is at wielding a sword in his right hand I totally forgot to check which arm was actually dominant! I do have some plans to rewrite a few of the earlier chapters, so I might add that chapter as one that needs refining. Thank you for picking up on it :)<br>**  
><strong>Guest - Here is your update ;)<strong>


	53. Forever Family

**Well, this is it! ****I hope everyone enjoys the last chapter of 'Expect the Unexpected'. I have a few ideas for outtakes that I might write up if anyone is interested? **

* * *

><p>"STRAWHAT-YA, YOU SHOULDN'T BE UP YET!"<p>

The call had evidently been taken as a suggestion as Luffy bounded through the submarines door and out onto the grass covered shore.

Sabo and Ace quickly moved to their feet, their poker game abandoned at the sight of Luffy finally joining them back in the land of the living.

As Luffy sighted her brothers, her signature grin plastered itself on her face.

Ace made it to his 'idiot' sister first, ensnaring her tightly into his arms.

"Don't you ever, ever, EVER scare me like that again! You understand?"

"Shishishi sorry!"

Sabo just shook his head as he pulled Luffy out from Ace's grip so that he could also give her a hug.

"I've missed you Luffy."

Luffy returned the offered hug from her 'deceased', come alive again, brother, accepting it all in a way only Luffy could.

"Missed you more."

She had managed to reclaim her two brothers within hours of each other, something she perceived as nothing short of miraculous.

Ace broke away from the scene as he scooped up what he had been keeping closely in his possession since Luffy had lost consciousness.

"We've been looking after this for you."

Not giving her a chance to see what it was Luffy soon found her slightly tattered straw hat pushed down over her head.

Her hands flew up to grip the edges as she tugged it tighter to her head.

"Shihihi! Thank you!"

Before she could say anymore Boa Hancock, flanked by her biological sisters crossed into the zoned off portion of their island for the recovering pirates.

"Sister! Margaret said you had awoken. I have brought you some food."

"FOOD!"

Nothing could have stopped her as Luffy materialised beside the food, instantly stuffing as much as she could into her mouth.

Some of the surrounding pirates watched in horror, completely astounded that such a small girl could eat so much and so quickly!

Smirks twitched on the faces of Sabo and Ace. If only one thing was certain, it would be that their sister would never lose her appetite.

The mound of food was rapidly demolished, leaving a momentarily sated Luffy lying on the ground, her brothers seated by her side.

Trafalgar Law, upon seeing that his Supernova counterpart was at least 'resting' by her own definition, failed to see the need to involve himself in the family reunion. Instead he returned below deck to start the necessary clean up of his operating theatre.

A peace fell over the three as the two boys resumed their abandoned game of cards.

Luffy's eyes cracked open as she watched them. Whilst she was usually interested in playing any sort of games with her brothers, she had never picked up the art of poker.

Something about having to sit relatively still with a blank expression failed to impress her as an idea of a 'fun' activity. As such, it was a game that Thatch had only managed to teach Ace and Sabo.

Luffy's forehead creased as she stared at her brothers.

Thatch**_ loved_** playing poker.

Sitting up, Luffy glanced around at the numerous faces that littered the area. Some she vaguely recognised from Marineford but most were foreign to her.

Pushing herself to her feet, Luffy twisted her body around.

This time she scanned the area with more scrutiny, her vision finally coming to a halt on the _Moby Dick_.

At her movements, Ace and Sabo abandoned their cards for a second time.

The cogs that were turning in their sister's head were not unnoticed by either of them.

"Lu–"

"Where's dad?"

Ace and Sabo shared a look but neither made a comment.

The happy and relaxed atmosphere of the reunited family shattered in a matter of seconds.

"Ace, where's dad?"

Licking his lips, Ace moved between Luffy and the _Moby Dick_. Trying desperately to keep her attention focused on him.

"Luffy."

Sabo quickly followed his brother's lead, positioning himself next to Ace, their shoulder almost touching. Ace had never been one for words, that role usually falling to him, but it didn't make it any easier to find the words that would placate Luffy.

"Luffy, dad isn't so good at the moment. It's probably better if you stayed out here. Why don't you try of the salted pork over there?"

Luffy eyed her brothers warily as she took a step closer to the huge ship.

In all the time she had known Thatch, he had never once fallen sick, and she doubted that with the way the boys were acting that he just had a common cold.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember seeing Thatch anywhere on the battlefield. At the time she had been so focused on Ace, that everything else and been relegated to the back of her mind, including the whereabouts of Thatch.

"I want to see Thatch."

The Whitebeard Pirates that had been watching the scene unfold, flinched, most turning away from the three as they contemplated the fate of their brother.

With Thatch's condition remaining unchanged, the doctors had been busy taking care of the injuries of the other crew members. Only minimal checks had been carried out, ensuring that his condition hadn't worsened but none had time enough to seriously examine Thatch's health.

The nurses who had been attending to Whitebeard glanced over their shoulders, guilt causing their bodies to tense. They too had been so preoccupied with caring for the others that they hadn't seriously checked on the Commander's health.

The crew's reactions did not go unnoticed by the speedster, causing her eyes to narrow.

She was going to see Thatch if she had to fight every last person here.

Luffy slid her leg back slightly, readying herself to force her way through if need be.

She should have known by now that her brothers knew her better than she knew herself.

Pre-empting her move they swooped in, each wrapping an arm around her waist, with Ace letting his head fall to her shoulder.

"Luffy. I'm sorry."

At the sound of Ace's apology, panic sparked within Luffy's heart.

Something was wrong.

It was definitely not a cold.

She struggled against their grip but the pair merely tightened their hold.

A pained look crossed Sabo's face as the last images he'd seen of Thatch flashed in his mind.

_Luffy can't be allowed to see dad in that state_.

Luffy growled as she failed to force her way past her brothers.

"DAD!"

Her attempts doubled as Luffy continued to try and free herself from her brothers.

She wanted to see the only man she would ever consider as her father.

"DAD!"

Luffy couldn't control the frustration that was building beneath her panic.

_Why wasn't anyone helping her? _

_Why wasn't Dad responding?_

"DAD!"

Whitebeard closed his eyes.

He had always believed that the young ones of today were in too much of a rush. They weren't ready to handle life on the seas.

Life on the seas was harsh and it would undoubtedly claim lives of those that sailed its vastness.

Due time or not.

It was unfortunate that she would have to learn that lesson the hard way.

"DADDY!"

Ace couldn't blink back the tears that fell rapidly, one after the other.

Every yell, every cry, from his sister was another stabbing pain in his chest.

It hurt.

To the point where he was beginning to feel physically ill, but he knew the pain would be greater if he let her see Dad as he was now.

The strong, unstoppable image of a man from her past would be stolen.

He wouldn't let that happen.

No amount of pain would stop him from protecting her.

"DADDY!"

Her ragged breaths were harsh as she took in more air, ready to make the desperate call once more.

"No need to yell Precious. I might be getting older but I've not gone deaf."

The Whitebeard Pirates snapped to attention, all eyes flying to the sound of the baritone voice.

"Dad!"

Thatch leaned heavily against the door frame of the _Moby Dick_, clearly in need of some good food and to style his hair, but otherwise appearing to be fine.

A huge smile spread across Luffy's face, and squirming her way out of her brother's loosened grip, she was soon in her father's arms.

Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo had managed to rotate themselves to see that the voice had really come from their father figure.

Sabo blinked his eyes rapidly, unsure if he could believe what they were showing him.

Ace meanwhile, stood immobilised, shock plainly written across his face.

"Daddy! Ace and Sabo were being mean."

Luffy's whines quickly consumed Thatch's attention, as they returned to their father-daughter relationship.

It was as if no time had passed at all, as if it had only been yesterday that a young speed demon had taken a tumble in the woods and scraped her knee.

Luffy snuggled herself into Thatch's chest whilst sticking her tongue out at her 'bully' brothers.

Why did they always have to gang up on her?

It wasn't fair.

"Ah, don't be too hard on them Sweetheart."

Luffy may have heard sincerity but she missed the smirking face that was directed at the two boys.

Sabo was the next to react, launching himself up and over the railing and into Thatch's left arm that had managed to be disentangle from Luffy.

He didn't give a rat's backside that he was an almost-20-year-old-man; all he wanted was his dad.

Ace stood unable to move.

A dream.

Everything had to be a dream.

When he was beaten by Blackbeard he was so sure that it was his end.

He would be executed and Thatch would forever be trapped in a coma, his revenge never carried out.

Ace was oblivious to the words that were being said by Thatch, his mind only processing the grinning faces of his siblings wrapped in their father's arms.

Thatch, smiled down at his eldest and youngest before looking over their heads to his most troublesome middle child.

He quirked an eyebrow at Ace's statuary form.

"Since when did you leave the family? This is a family hug ain't it?"

Ace's throat constricted as he tried to reply but failed to find the words.

His head dropped as his shoulders started to shake slightly.

"Ace-nii?"

Luffy's call broke him out of his reprieve and following in Sabo's footprints, Ace quickly leapt onto the deck, crashing into the others heavily.

A hearty chuckle escaped from Thatch as he narrowly avoided falling over, although he suspected that Sabo's and Luffy's grip, and the supporting doorway behind, may have had something to do with that.

All previous 'bullying' claims seemed to lay forgotten as Luffy pulled Ace further into their family hug, placing him at the centre.

Ace's head was bowed against Thatch's chest, and even if Luffy hadn't been able to see as a result of her height difference, she would have known that her brother was crying.

Sneaking a glance over to Sabo, it quickly became evident that her eldest brother had also caught on to her thoughts, the pair grinning devilishly.

_Oh the teasing they could pull_...

The pair quickly had their smirks removed as Thatch's hands slapped them lightly on the upside of their heads, his 'don't even think about it' glare, out in full force.

Sabo had the modesty to be sheepish about the shared thoughts, whilst Luffy merely grinned cheekily up at her father, before resting her head on the side of Ace's shoulder.

A barely audibly sniff, came from across the clearing, as Boa Hancock watched the family reunion, tears following freely down her face.

She didn't think she had ever seen something so beautiful – except maybe herself.

The Whitebeard Pirate's watched with a sense of awe.

Marco had a smirk on his lips as he looked at the man he considered to be his best friend, and of course brother.

_He really can play the role of a father after all_.

Whitebeard merely smiled, grateful to see his son finally back on his feet and reunited with his own son's and daughter.

However the moment wasn't made to last as Thatch, gently broke their family hug, his eyes sweeping over his extended family, all of whom carried varied expressions and injuries.

"So, what'd I miss?"

* * *

><p><strong>So... <strong>

**How did I do? Should I be hiding behind Ace for protection? *Makes human barricade consisting of Sabo, Ace and Luffy and hides***

**...On another note... **

**Thank you so much to everyone who has faved, followed and reviewed somewhere along the way. I never thought I would make it to 53 chapters, and it's definitely thanks to your continued support!**

**A few people in particular I would like to thank...**  
><strong>Rell thank you so much. You've stuck with me from start to finish and it really means a lot to me. <strong>  
><strong>Rugiku, who edited almost every chapter.<strong>  
><strong>Pokepika's Haunt who prompted me to start this story back in late 2011  early 2012.**

**My other loyal reviewers: Tarume, Hunter-Eve-Storm, The Black Sea Reaper, Dragon Fire Princess, Kai F. Raphaella, Fate's Silver Chain, Radji, RoXaS707, Angelrider13, Vampirelover12100 and Lily Noir.**

**I'm sorry, I know that isn't everyone, but know that I perceive every review as nothing short of miraculous, so thank you again to everyone who reviewed at some point!**

**As I mentioned earlier, there is a possibility for a few outtakes so let me know if you would like to see them, or if you have any ideas for things you would have liked to see but it didn't happen.**


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